The Assassination of Amber Heard

[DomesticatedZombie]

I hesitate to get involved in this topic - I've not followed the trial and I find the televising and subsequent media circus repugnant.

Unfortunately, it can and will have effects on how women are seen and treated, especially in dv cases, so I suppose in some ways we have no choice but to pay attention.

I thought this was a good article:

medium.com/@hannahxsummers/the-assassination-of-amber-heard-a2e861ad5ded

I really don't know anymore!

The bottom line for me which is where I keep coming back to is that AH has claimed repeated brutal physical and sexual assaults but was seen in public without injuries consistent with them. I don't know what the reason is for that other than they didn't happen. What other reason could there be? Obviously we don't know about the state of her vagina, but based on what she says happened she'd have been very injured and taking 2 sleeping tablets and going to sleep wouldn't have resolved that.

Can the jury determine that she hugely exaggerated but that some element of violence occurred and therefore the op-ed which she didn't or didn't write depending on which count she's defending was fundamentally justified and not defamatory?

Jeez what's embarrassing and has the likelihood of causing problems for women in the future, is this rampant support for Heard simply because she has a vagina. She is an abuser. Not just an unlikable person, she is an out and out abuser as recorded from multiple witness statements, proven injuries to Depp and her own damn recordings of herself bullying, belittling and laughing at her physical assaults on him, and her outright lies on multiple occasions that have been disproved. Yet that's all hunky dory because of her vagina she is obviously a poor little victim.

Ah okay @VestofAbsurdity

What did the piece say and will same principles as uk case apply? Ie that if some of the violence against AH can be proven then the piece is substantially correct (even though he isn't named)?

I'm incredibly uncomfortable with AH being in public court and televised trial reliving sexual assault. Its incredibly damaging to her and women who may continue to choose not to report assault and violence. It's a circus not of her making.

The way Depp is presenting is incredibly immature. He's an addict. The different songs played as he arrives each morning. The jokes. Regardless of whether AH also committed violence he did some horrific things which have been captured on screen. He doesn't appear repentant or ashamed for the part he played in this toxic marriage.

The way Depp is presenting is incredibly immature. He's an addict. The different songs played as he arrives each morning. The jokes. Regardless of whether AH also committed violence he did some horrific things which have been captured on screen. He doesn't appear repentant or ashamed for the part he played in this toxic marriage.

If AH is making it up, most of this would apply to her too.

Referencing a PP, if JD is abusing AH and she hits him, it's retaliation. But if AH is abusing JD and he hits her, what's that? Genuine question, as there audio evidence where she has hit him [first].

@whatever1980 I looked it up online and read it, sorry can't seem to link it. Just search for Washington Post Amber Heard Op-Ed.

I'm incredibly uncomfortable with AH being in public court and televised trial reliving sexual assault. Its incredibly damaging to her and women who may continue to choose not to report assault and violence. It's a circus not of her making.

I can't agree with this. She just went through a well publicised divorce and then wrote a piece about being in a domestic violence situation. You don't need to be an Einstein to figure out who she was talking about. Did she really think someone so apparently violent and unhinged as Depp would not come after her? She'd have been better to have kept her word and given money to the domestic abuse charity as promised, whilst working alongside victims. If she'd done that, her presence would have conveyed the truth of her marriage and would have done more to help the cause than this shambles has done.

The fact that people believe 23 year old Amber Heard managed to manipulate, gaslight and abuse JD while he cowered in a corner and his security just stood and watched it happed is farcical.

When they met JD was more than twice her age, an A list celebrity, had more money than sense and had connections with powerful people all over the world. She was a 23 year old unknown actress. He had all the power in the relationship.

Still, people would rather believe she’s some sort of super villain who hatched a plan years in advance to frame JD by sending text messages talking about the abuse, taking fake photos of herself with black eyes, and talking to her therapist about the sexual assaults just so she could bring it up years later in a court case!!!

She told her therapists about the rapes when they happened years ago. She never once brought those allegations public. We’re only hearing about them now because he forced her hand by forcing her to have to defend herself in court.

Thank god, finally a sane thread on this. I am disgusted by some people's loyalty to JD.

I don’t particularly care for either of them, since the whole taking their dogs to Australia and posting a very mocking video about it at the time, but these last few weeks have felt like licensed misogyny.

Isn't this victim blaming?

This would have been an example of him still controlling her after they've split.

She was arrested for DV in here previous marriage.

And yet

Van Ree issued a statement that Heard had been "wrongfully" accused and that the incident had been "misinterpreted and over-sensationalized".[93][94]

From wiki with references. Amber was arrested for allegedly grabbing and "hitting" van ree's arm. Never charged.

There's a deliberate bias in the narratives being peddled. this incident at an airport, apparently reported by people wanting to smear Amber (see Reddit info upthread) is seen as DV when raping with a bottle is not.

WTAF.

There seems to be 25 different versions of the finger thing.

I find it interesting that despite being an excellent actor, he's not acting on the stand, and she is.

He's not exaggerating and she is.

I've even seen a sm clip making out she's disrespectful because she didn't realise the judge had entered while writing notes and sitting the far side of the court. JD is 'amazing' because he wasn't writing notes, sitting more centrally and saw and stood up.

The propaganda machine is insane.

The thing that makes me feel sick is that people are holding AH to a much higher standard.

why they feel the need to take his side? they don’t know him, he’s not their friend. Stop with the fawning (because that’s how it looks).

I don't know what the truth is but I've made some observations.

By default I believe that his behaviour while drinking and doing drugs was emotionally abusive. I have been in a relationship with someone who was a gambling addict and whilst it's a different type of addiction, I know how it felt to be treated in the way I was treated - a total head f* and I felt emotionally abused in many ways, desperate to escape but feeling trapped. I think that being in a relationship with someone who is a drug addict must completely wreck you - add in a bit of celebrity status and it must be maximised. I hope that she's getting counselling and support for what she's been through as I imagine it's mentally impacted her.

There are some things she's said that don't make sense to me. Her account to me seems mismatched to the audio recordings. In some cases it feels as if she is trying to goad him. It's also not clear to me why she had so much alleged evidence and then waited so long to use it. In one of her recordings she says "how do i take it back", I'm not sure why she would say that. It's also unclear to me why she would instigate a meeting with him in San Francisco when he was not supposed to be near her. In the court she backed away from him, behaving as if she were scared, but went to meet him alone in San Francisco. I'm curious about these things as they don't make sense to me.

Without considering whether either of them were abused for a moment, her accounts seem strange and manipulative in some cases.

I have a family member who was sexually abused for a long time, quite seriously at a young age and when they talk about it, it takes great effort and they are very withdrawn. I'm sure without a doubt that how people deal with abuse varies from person to person, but its very difficult for me to watch Amber speak so openly and fluently in such detail and understand how she is able to do that.

I believe they were both emotionally abused by the other but I'm not too sure about the physical abuse. The strong views from people that someone is abusive before a verdict has been given (whether they be male or female) does concern me as equally as it does at the thought that she or he might be lying. I personally think that whatever the outcome of this case, it won't do abuse victims in general any favours.

I agree OP.

I am sure there is some exaggeration on her part, but there is certainly more than enough evidence verified by third parties that he was physically abusive towards her.

Yes I'm sure she behaved badly in the relationship too, it was a toxic relationship, in a destructive cycle. She's not a perfect victim - no woman ever is.

Nobody deserves to be abused. However, her lying on the stand does affect her credibility as a witness. If she lies about things like guitar playing that are easily verified, it raises questions about what else she might be lying about. I'm not saying she is or isn't lying about the abuse but she isn't doing herself any favours when she knowingly lies and gets caught out. I don't even understand why she would lie about something like that. What's the point.

It was just mentioned on woman's hour that for JD to win they'd have to not believe a single thing that AH has said.

Not one.

Since some of her testimony is corroborated by primary sources I can't see that happening. I don't know how much everyone following this across all social media knows this but I can't help thinking it's being done in order to smear her as much as possible.

I do think a lot of Depp’s supporters online are bots and then the unwavering support is filtering through to real people. A lot of lies have been posted about Heard online - like she was quoting the talented Mr Ripley. I wouldn’t be surprised if Depp hadn’t hired a reputational pr firm.

Also another thought is that proportionally what Depp has accused Heard of is minor compared to her accusations. Ie she threw a bottle that popped my finger off / she slapped me. Then compare this to Heard being kicked in the back and sexually assaulted.

im sure there is wrongdoing on both parts but am shocked by the willingness to defend Depp - who has been giggling and doodling in court. Let’s not forget he has a lot more money to hire experts etc.

JD and his team are using fake news to their advantage.

It's been found that there's at least 6,000 bot accounts spreading pro JD/ anti AH misinformation. They're spreading propaganda and people are just lapping it up.

I don't know what it is about social media but it's full of people with zero critical thinking skills.

It's puts me in mind of Trump and all the fake news surrounding him due to the Russian bots. Truly outlandish stuff that people believed simply because they read it on Facebook.

I really hope as a society, years from now we're going to look back and be truly ashamed and disgusted at how we treated AH.

The UK judge's son (Robert Palmer) worked with Wooten (the defendent) at TalkRadio. The judge (Andrew Nicol) and his wife were / are personal friends of Rupert Murdoch who owns the Sun. The judge should have recused himself from the case due to the conflict of interest.

She admits repeatedly in the recordings to having been the primary aggressor and to hitting him and throwing pots and pans at him.

If you avoid the media and social media and read transcripts and listen to recordings and testimony - it is almost impossible to see her as a victim.

When Amber was 23 she was in a relationship with Tasya van Ree. According to online sources Tasya and Amber broke up in 2012 when Amber was 26.

You believe she was cheating on Tasya? You keep saying 23 in your post so I am really not sure what point you are trying to drive home?

I have not changed my mind about the equal but different kinds of abuser they each are. But the ongoing shitfest aimed, yet again, at the woman, is transparent, abhorrent and fucking ridiculous!

Yes, she is a liar, as is he.
Yes she has a history of violence, as does he.
Yes, she comes across as an excruciatingly self absorbed individual, as does he.

But the media coverage has quite often been sheer woman hating lunacy! What she wears, how she wears it. What she says, how she says it. Does she cry, does she not cry? Did she use make up to make or to cover up bruises? She's an actress... come on, you can't believe her! And on and on and on.

And poor old Johnny... ?

Blech!

I'm shocked at how many adults struggle to step away from the simplistic childish narrative that someone is either all good or all bad. Johnny Depp is an amazingly talented actor, but he is not someone i would like to meet and definitely not someone i would want to be friends with let alone in an intimate relationship with. I can still enjoy watching his movies though.

The Heard/Depp thing, should be used to educated people in how complex toxic abusive relationships can be when you get two people with personality disorders/mental health problems/substance abuse together. The problem is the male will, almost, always have a physical and sexual power advantage over the female. Add money and fame to a relationship like this and boom, this is what you get.

The link to the text message chronology from the UK case above makes for fascinating reading. No doubt for me that he did throw a phone at her face causing an injury - whether it went further than that I’m not sure.

For those who are following it more closely, one thing that you may be able to answer for me. For all the recordings they made of each other, and all the text message exchanges flying between all parties, is there a reference to the incident with the bottle in any of them? I can completely understand why she may not have disclosed it, but at the same time she was pretty open with family and friends about what was going on, and she was in text contact with him as well. It just seems weird to me that there doesn’t seem to have been contemporaneous reference to that incident or the physical assault which preceded it - but I accept the slant on the reporting means I may have missed it.