Part 2 -AIBU to wonder why so many people assume Johnny Depp is the good guy and Amber Heard is the villain

[StormzyinaTCup]

Just thought I would start a follow on thread for anyone interested in the trial. I have kept it in AIBU so that it is easier for previous posters from Part 1 to find.
We are halfway through and have heard JD's testimony so next week we will hear from AH.

@ENoeuf the witness is doing very well holding her own but what stood out to me was the knife present. The attorney made the point about why would someone who was in fear for their life give the person they were scared of a knife as a present. I thought that was a good point.

Interesting, I’m thinking the witness is doing really well. I did miss the beginning but she’s much less evasive than the JD therapist I think.

My impression is that she's much calmer and far more detached and professional today than she was yesterday, when I thought she acquitted herself quite poorly as her testimony progressed. She started out strongly when referring to dispassionate research models and her way of applying these to clients, plus the conflict between her own views and Curry's where she gave good reasons for a professional difference of opinion. It all went wrong when she appeared too aeriated and emotionally involved, and her constant references to Depp didn't help albeit she related these accounts to the symptoms she'd observed in Heard. By the end she looked pretty flustered and out of her depth.

She seems to have given her own head a good wobble and had a good night's sleep! Under the confrontational style of cross-examination by Depp's lawyer she held up well, deflected him pretty effectively (at least in the bits I watched) and stayed unflappable.

Glad I'm WFH right now. I'm unashamedly hooked.

The Dr has regained her composure and is more professional today thank goodness, it was quite a shambles yesterday.

She is more professional. May have got a told off by her boss.

@MrsH1983 ah thank you I missed that bit.

For anyone who wants to watch it live

But that's so simplistic. I'm assuming Johnny would have access to any number of knives and weapons had he wished to use them, anyway.

I think the knife was a sort of gothic-vibes romantic gesture and I don't see it as remotely relevant to the question of abuse TBH, other than perhaps suggesting they were both invested in the idea of their shitshow of a marriage as tragic love affair.

@Aspiringmatriarch why would anyone who was scared actually hand their abuser a weapon that could kill them though? That makes no sense to me. It's like giving someone a gun that you're scared of.

She looks so nervous.

Because people aren't always that linear and logical. With respect I don't think you understand abuse dynamics and human nature that well if you're looking at this and expecting every single thing to make sense!

The second half of this is good - an interview with Dr Taylor who I think was mentioned earlier in one of these threads. She makes a lot of sense.

I REALLY hope they aren’t going for the breaking horses thing and equating to being with Jonny.

I find that quite unfair that you have said that as I was in a violent marriage for 9 years and also did the freedom course. I understand very well about dv.

I wouldn't have thought so, it's a bit of a stretch.
I would expect JDs team to bring up the make up classes though.

Thank goodness ! I was like ‘oh noooo’….

Sorry if I've offended you but surely you can see that not everyone behaves 'as expected?

AH seems genuine at the moment I think

What if the abuser didn't say "Please could you hand me that wife darling" and instead said "Give me that knife over here you fucking useless bitch or I'll thump you"?

I don't think people always behave in a set pattern when nervous/anxious. Some might want to avoid aggravating their abuser by pleasing them. Abuse after all is usually about control so a victim might well be "trained" by their abuser by that point to obey their commands without risking further abuse by disagreeing.

I would have also thought that anyone intent on killing someone else could quite easily avail themselves of a kitchen knife, so simply refusing to hand it over wouldn't be especially logical.

It’s crazy that all the stuff she is saying now is relevant

what was he drinking that she thought was tea?!

I don't understand why she's making such a big thing about how generous and kind JD was to her family?

@Giraffesandbottoms I think he was actually drinking tea. I think she is saying he was using it to replace alcohol - and maybe later when not sober - he will drink as much alcohol as he did tea - in that everything he did, he did to excess.

@CorsicaDreaming I think she is setting the scene of older man sweeps young naive woman off her feet and it is all magical and over the top and he hooks her in

This is interesting, I wonder if she’s exaggerating / acting although it rings true having been in an abusive relationship re the clothes thing.

I can only talk from my own experience but after I had been abused I couldn't talk about my ex in such positive terms about how the relationship started. It's odd.

I'm interested in the personality/behaviour aspect and the different diagnosis, is it PTSD or NPD/BPD and I'm listening for any of this in particular:

Amber uses "impressionistic speech", which the doctor clarified was using "very flowery language... but in the end you're left wondering what was said", which are all characteristics of the disorder.

Dr Curry said that it is common for those with the disorder to show "a quick shift between emotions... becoming very angry and very sad... It seems like 'play acting'."

It's fascinating.