The Depp Trial and Dishonest Op-Eds
Maybe op-eds from major publications should be one of the things we consider the relevance of in the wake of the Depp trial. Amber Heard’s op-ed in the Washington Post is the subject of the recent trial, and frankly, I’m getting tired of reading dishonest op-eds from major publications about the trial.
These recent op-eds take their seat comfortably in the graveyard of self-satisfying literature containing flawed conclusions. I wonder if these people neglected to actually watch the trial and instead only consumed it through a second-hand source. Here are some of the ridiculous conclusions that I’ve seen:
- “This verdict is perhaps the biggest blow to the #MeToo movement since its inception” – Jill Filipovic, The Guardian [1]
- “…we value the comfort and self-regard of men, especially famous ones, more than we value the safety and dignity of women, even famous ones.” – A.O. Scott, NY Times [2]
Both of these statements are absurd. I understand how the authors might think they’re reasonable, but they are presented both without any evidence and without sensible consideration of alternatives. Each of the ideas represent two major flaws in the way some are thinking about the outcome of the trial. Conveniently, both points happen to concern the same flaw.
What’s Worse: The Verdict, or the Trial?
For those who watched the trial, Johnny Depp won in the court of public opinion. We’ll discuss why in the rest of the article, but the fact is that Johnny Depp won the support of most of us long before the verdict was announced. I cannot speak for those who did not watch the trial firsthand.
To say that the verdict is the “biggest blow” to any movement is to ignore the incredible impact of everything that lead up to the verdict. For those of us who watched the trial, the verdict was icing on the cake. It was the result that we needed from what we’ve seen.
What was actually more memorable and satisfying was being among so many other people, men and women, who were able to recognize Amber’s lying for what it is as the trial went on. The real influential moments happened in the days and weeks leading up to the verdict. Arguably, the current time is also an influential moment, as we reflect on this trial as a society.
Maybe the author meant to say instead that the trial is the biggest blow to the #MeToo movement. I think that might be acceptable. However, one might ask: why is that the case?
Why was the trial such a big blow to the #MeToo movement?
Simply, because Amber lied about her abuse. How can I be so certain?
Amber’s position throughout the trial and afterward was that she experienced the maximum level of abuse, for which there are “mountains of evidence”. She claimed that she was physically beaten repeatedly, as much as any other domestic violence victim. She said that she was hit hard. Yet, the photos that she released and all testimony from those involved don’t speak to this abuse at all. Amber took a handful of photos of what she called terrible physical abuse, but the photos showed no abuse.
Let’s suspend our reality for a moment and pretend that those photos actually show Amber having been hit. What kind of black eye does it look like? On a scale of 1-10? It looks like a one to me – something that is at best questionable. Let’s recap:
1) Amber claims that she was terribly physically abused, saying that the photos of her face are evidence of her being hit in the face “hard.”
3) It’s incredibly difficult to tell if there’s damage to Amber in the photos.
The damage seen in Amber’s photos, if any, is not commensurate with the story that she has told. If she had been hit in the way she she claimed, the photos would reflect that without question. Also, Amber has altered some of her photos; you don’t need to alter photos of actual domestic violence victims in order to see a questionable amount of abuse. I won’t post a photo of someone with an actual black eye here, but if you haven’t seen one, they’re easy to find on the internet as a point of comparison.
This trial might have a chilling effect on the #MeToo movement. And that concerns me deeply – we should continue to stand up for women who are being abused. But lying to ourselves about what actually happened is how we (Amber) got here in the first place and will be our path to repeating this nightmare.
The more insidious result of this is that most of us will have forgotten about this trial in 5-10 years, and Amber can make her valiant return to film. At that point, she’ll be able to take advantage of the popularity that she’s gained from the op-ed written so long ago.
[2] https://www.nytimes.com/2022/06/02/arts/depp-heard-trial-malice.html
updated 6.06.2022
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