To think that televising the Amber Heard/Johnny Depp case is harmful to DV victims?

[Thorilicious]

I know it's America, and it's the done thing.

However, the majority of the public have already decided that's she's lying, and we're not even halfway through the case.

Whatever you believe, there will be some DV victims who are even more afraid to come forward, due to opinions about this trial.
AIBU to think that such a high profile case should have been tried behind closed doors?

I find the level of detail quite distressing and the obvious answer is to avoid it but somehow I still keep clicking onto it. I haven’t followed it closely enough to understand who may or may not be lying but I am really concerned about the damage this is going to do to people believing victims of abuse which is an uphill battle as it is

I don’t think it’s harmful to DV victims. It is what it is and brushing it under the carpet isn’t going to help DV victims.

In the context of quoting from Monty Python, I don't see this as an irrefutable example of the capacity for sexual violence tbh. But I can see why others would feel differently.

But at the end of the day, IMO, if the accusations were true, and he was beating her all the time, she wouldn't be having to make shit up. The clear evidence of the aftermath would be there. A bigger bruise you don't have to squint to see, ripped clothes, bloodied sheets.

She could have gone with a "I pushed him so far and he thumped me" claim, which is what my starting position was on this story, with the evidence of DV between AH & JD. And we know that a man is not allowed to fight back under any circumstances because he's bigger and stronger. So I did believe he'd hit her.

But the claims have gone way further than that and aren't just unsubstantiated but are clearly disproven. So that shows a different dynamic to the power play and who's abusing who as this trial goes on, and what's going on tbh.

And I've watched the whole trial so far and have an interest in psychology, social behaviour and trials. Hence why I'm watching it. Not as some perverse voyeur.

I don't mean it should be brushed under the carpet, but I feel the all the details should be made public after all the evidence has been heard, rather than it playing like a soap opera for everyone to see.

@Notlabeled I think to televise every trial would mean a lot of victims would not testify: the experience of going to court after you’ve been abused is retraumatising enough without people picking over it. The idea of doing that to victims makes me feel a bit sick

Hasn't HE taken HER to court though?

I think there is a lot of US conflict that should not be televised. It is sick to treat distressing courtroom proceedings as entertainment.

did you see the clip of him walking towards A and she recoils? His little smug shrug and smirk was very telling.

Did you see the clip of her walking towards him before the morning break on the same day, trying to catch his eye and him looking away and being able to walk directly past him?

There was no recoiling then from AH. That's why JD was smirking. Because he knew she was acting.

I can’t think of any reason why someone should recount in detail their experience of being penetrated by a bottle without their consent. True or not, it’s a terrible accusation and I can’t see why JD would want it made publicly against him.

^^ in public I mean, in a filmed trial.

She's the one continuing to look in his direction, he doesn't look up to look at her.

Since both the involved parties have chosen to put their stories into the public eye - they are going to do so knowing it would be scrutinized and responded to.

I think this case is also good at showing the complexity that exists in some cases of DV. DV isn't as clean as #Believe Women #Blame Men hashtags would lead you to believe. It also adds to public discourse that men can be victims and women abusers and that behind closed doors it isn't always just men treating women badly.

The fandom issue is problematic but given they are public figures I don't know how you get aroudn that. I hope it is mostly teens who are acting besotted with Johnny as though he has done no wrong and that comes from their naive life experiences.

What is hurting Amber most (beyond the rabid fan base) is her lies - that there is evidence to show are lies. Once you show yourself to not be honest, it makes it hard for people to see you as a credible witness. And it should. I am not a fan of Johnny in any form - professionally or personally but his telling of events is more credible than hers when you look at everything available

Tbf that's down to the media and the people watching it as entertainment. Not the fact that it's been shown on TV.

I'm watching it all because I have time and I want to be able to form my own opinion as to whether the actor we watch and enjoy in the Pirates films is a violent abuser or not. Or whether someone else is trying to blacken his name in revenge.

It's a civil case about money and a magazine article.

They are suing each other.

It's not a criminal case about violence.

Even though that's how it comes across.

Err not stuff like this

Could he possibly win this case? If the crux of the case is that she damaged his reputation with that specific article, I guess he could. But he has revealed himself to be a thoroughly awful man. That doesn't mean that she didn't rant at him abusively but he colluded very fully in his own deteriorating reputation.

I think the whole thing stinks. It's vile. They're both just deeply immersed in the Hollywood vat of acid and I don't think this trial does ANY favours for victims of abuse. It's so damn messy, how could you even locate the helpful aspects?
I feel so sorry for their kids. Amber Heard is a mother. Johnny Depp is a father. And this shit will always come up when they google their parents. It's just all sorts of rotten. And no, I'm not implying that there is shame here or that DV shouldn't be disclosed and children should be protected from the truth. But really, this is deeply traumatic for Johnny Depp's children. You can't pretend this doesn't touch them or that their family fame immunises them from this shit. I just feel so damn sorry for them. They're young people on the cusp of fulfilling their own dreams and their dad and his ex-wife are making a hugely narcissistic display of their terrible antics. They both suck.

I don’t think so. He lost in the UK. From what I’ve seen the defence is saying 1. It’s true and 2. Even if it’s not true he was already being dropped and losing work (hence all the headlines being round out).

Well no because if it wasn’t televised then no one would be watching it.

And frankly the blame the media trope is very tired. Media is a business, it only sells stuff that people buy. If viewers didn’t tune in then it wouldn’t be televised. But no, you want to watch it and blame “the media” for your choices.

Wow so awesome of you to share your mind reading prowess 👏

What difference does that make?

Something that makes me uncomfortable is that the enitre case is about the legal issue that if AH says JD hit her, she has to prove it. But domestic violence, like rape, rarely has witnesses. So if JD wins this, doesn’t that mean no woman can describe herself as a violence victim or a rape victim without fearing she’ll be sued and have no way to prove what she said is true?

I agree it’s become a theatre show with the baddie AD

yet his behaviour is excused time and time again in court and out of court.

I read an article from Rolling Stone published in 2018 JD discussed his financial issues along with his new lawyer who was with him constantly (issues starting long before AD was on the scene) issues due to his overspending and the mis management of his money. The spending shows you what an egotistical person he is I want I get. The interview was over a number of days. JD days start later afternoon,
is often stoned, drunk, incoherent, boasts about his spending, rambles, moods up and down what really comes across is his trying to relive the good old days and that he is surrounded by yes people he pays. I actually felt sad for him

This is what JD has become the person you would avoid at a party the guy who makes you uncomfortable because he is intense bitterness he is no longer the quirky cool slightly mysterious (or pretentious) actor he is a bitter man who has been indulged and spoilt for years and years

Why I believe many people don’t believe her is because they want to believe nice guys don’t become horrible.

we were ok believing about Harvey Weinstein (even that was defended and the questions were why didn’t she rather that why did he) because he doesn’t come across as particularly nice, OJ Simpson was a charming good looking hero to many and many refused to believe he could possibly be a bad guy too

JD doesn’t fit the mould of a bad guy and foe many she doesn’t fit the mould of a victim

I agree. The whole thing is disgraceful, an indictment on the toxicity that embodies Hollywood, the greed, the narcissism, the vanity, the shallowness, the disregard and disrespect for anyone not on their payroll, the extreme selfishness and inability to appreciate how far removed they are from reality.

This trial is a product of everything that is wrong with this world, a shit show of sexism, ageism, greed, excess, ego and dishonesty, the very picture of what the American dream looks like when opened up. All that matters is money and appearances, ethics are long lost.

Evidence is needed - not proof. It doesn't mean there has to be witnesses. It means you have to tell a credible recounting of events and the available evidence needs to support your position. That would be photographic, circumstantial, communications, DNA, etc. In this case Amber recounts she has punched repeatedly in the face, had her lip split open with rings, had her nose broken etc and yet in pictures taken that day, the next day and days after while she was under studio lights and in professional make-up chairs - there is no sign of these injuries. So that kind of incongruence creates a gap in the evidence chain.