Depp sues Heard for defamation amid career turmoil

After years of back and forth abuse allegations, brutal headlines from the tabloids and being dropped from various big name roles, Actor Johnny Depp is suing his ex-wife and fellow actor Amber Heard for defamation. Depp filed the lawsuit after Heard wrote an essay for the New York Post in 2018 that implied she had been a victim of domestic abuse. Depp was not named in the article, but the claims Heard made echoed previous ones she’d made against him during their divorce in 2016, thus Depp claims it damaged his reputation. 

Following these allegations, Depp was asked to resign from the third “Fantastic Beasts'' movie, which premiered over the weekend with another actor in his place. This news came out after Depp had lost a libel case in 2018 against British newspaper The Sun. The Sun had published an article that referred to Depp as a “wife beater.” Fans were outraged to hear that he had been dropped from the film. Depp was also dropped from Disney, and thus all future “Pirates of the Caribbean” movies. Depp has starred in five “Pirates of the Caribbean” movies and a petition online is demanding his return to the franchise.

Heard is still active in Hollywood, even though many people believe that she is the real abuser. Depp claimed that, during a fight with Heard, she threw two wine bottles at him and the tip of one of his fingers was cut off by the glass. There are also images of Depp with bruises on his face, and an audio recording where Heard admitted to being violent and hitting Depp. 

Depp was married twice before marrying Heard. His ex-wives, Winona Rider and Vanessa Paradis, are both on Depp's side and stated publicly that he was never abusive during their marriages. Paradis and Depp have two children together and they have known each other for over 25 years. She said in a statement, “I am aware of the allegations which Amber Heard has publicly accused Johnny of for more than four years now. This is nothing like the true Johnny I have known, and from my personal experience of many years, I can say he was never violent or abusive to me.”

Domestic abuse and violence affects over 12 million people a year. Anyone can be a perpetrator of domestic abuse, and anyone can be a victim. According to the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence, “1 in 3 women and 1 in 4 men is a victim of some form of physical violence by an intimate partner during their lifetimes.”

Most domestic abuse or violence victims are women, but that doesn't mean that men aren't victims as well. It is very difficult for many victims of domestic abuse to get out of those relationships and environments. It can also be difficult for men to report their abuser or remove themselves from the situation because they don’t want to be perceived as weak. 

An anonymous Sonoma State student said, “People do not take abuse seriously towards women and especially towards men. We think men as unbeatable things that nothing bad can really happen to especially when it comes to sex and any harm from women. I think maybe part of this is because we don’t take women seriously. Our society can’t believe women can really hurt people.”

The Sonoma State community knows all too well what it’s like to be caught up in a sexual harassment scandal. On April 13, news broke that the California State University paid $600,000 to settle a harassment and retaliation case against Sonoma State University President Judy Sakaki’s Husband, Patrick McCallum. Sakaki announced Monday that she is separating from her husband. 

Since Depp is a public figure, and his name was not mentioned in the essay written by Heard, winning this defamation lawsuit will be difficult. In order for Depp to win the lawsuit, he has to prove that Heard’s essay was false information and that she acted with actual malice, meaning she knew it would damage his reputation.

The trial began on April 11 and is expected to last three weeks and is being aired on Court TV.