Has anyone else been as obsessed as me with the Johnny Depp V Amber Heard trial? Couldn’t stop watching. Totally engrossed (at one point I did reflect on this like why am I so obsessed with watching someone else’s misery and I think it just made me feel better/ less guilty about my shitty relationships hahaha). It’s finally come to an end! We made it and I feel like this is a good time to reflect on what we’ve seen whilst the jury deliberate. Let’s go through the various types of evidence together - note I may have missed certain things as there’s hours and hours of footage and I do have a day job but will include everything I can remember/ feel is relevant.
Now, though I do have a pretty strong opinion I am going to try and lay down the FACTS in a non-biased way. Ultimately I do feel like no one knows what exactly went on behind closed doors (despite copious recordings .. bin der!) and I absolutely cannot determine if JD was in fact an abuser and thus whether Ambers claims have been defamatory. Notwithstanding, the relationship obviously had some toxic energy which resulted in dishonorable behaviors from both parties and if this trial has brought about one positive thing, it is a literal trail of examples of red flags to absolutely avoid in a relationship such as explosive fights that can be described as ‘blood baths’.
An initial point, for those wondering why the trial is streamed for the whole world to see; in America courthouses are often open for the public to visit, including during a trial. Members of the public could wander in and watch a trial if one was happening; during Covid this was altered to streaming for obvs reasons. Allegedly, Johnny Depp fought for the live stream of the trial to go ahead. Amber Heard fought against this (and lost).
Violence
The most prominent element for me has been the amount of evidence I have heard (mostly voice audio clips) of Amber admitting do/ not denying and even apologising for being physically violent towards Johnny.
Violence towards another individual whether in a romantic relationship or not is not acceptable and in fact, repeated violence in a romantic relationship is absolutely a crime. Amber tends to refer to this as ‘hitting’ and I'm sure most of you have heard the savage clip of her denying punching and invalidating Johnny's feelings because she was only ‘hitting him’. Hitting is violence.
They’re numerous points of evidence demonstrating Amber’s tendency to be violent towards others as well as Johnny, not just the testimony of Johnny Depp.
Ambers former friend testified that Amber struck her once when she didn’t meet her needs
An airport worker witnessed her being physically aggressive whilst intoxicated in the airport
Security guards have witnessed ambers escalating aggression towards J when he tries to walk away from arguments
Witnesses have seen her throw items, spit at and physically assault JD and claw at him, trying to prevent him moving away from her
Numerous recording of Amber admitting to violence
Amber had a medical team around her throughout the marriage including her own nurse however there were no reports of physical injuries on Amber during this time despite the savage attacks she has described.
In terms of JD,
Video evidence of aggression towards property (kitchen cabinets) (notably, a day/ days after his mothers death)
Testimony from Amber's sister that he struck her in the back and later punched Amber in the face.
Evidence that Johnny put his hands on Amber to get away from the violent situation
Kate Moss testified that during their 3 year relationship JD did not push her down the stairs/ was not violent towards her despite AH using this rumor in her testimony.
By contrast to Amber, there is no audio evidence or evidence at all of Johnny admitting to or apologising for being violent towards Amber. I also feel it is notable that being Amber’s sister, Whitney as a witness has a clear bias. Furthermore, it has been said that Amber treats Whitney like a ‘punching bag’ and it may well be that Whitney is also a victim of abuse from Amber (imo).
One thing I find interesting is the way in which Amber's copious descriptions of JD being violent are all after he has taken drugs/ drink. She has really made an effort to paint him as an addict and has emphasised his drug use during/ prior to many of these events. I do not doubt at all that Johnny had a drug and alcohol dependency problem(and neither does he) and it is often found that these substances can heighten aggression and irritability in individuals who abuse them. I personally got the feeling that she emphasised drug use so much to account for the fact that Johnny could not recollect the events the way she describes them. It provides an additional cover for possible lies, despite the fact that not many other people could account for her versions of events either except her sister.
Language
Within the evidence, primarily voice recordings I feel like much of what I have heard particularly from Amber is manipulative language. Just two examples:
“You don’t escape the fight you escape the solution”
“You were not punched babe. I did not hurt you, I did not punch you I was hitting you”
Manipulation is a classic sign of domestic abuse as is gaslighting which I feel is represented in this second quote. Regardless, Amber has repeatedly invalidated Johnny's feelings or experiences of the relationship. What’s more is the attempts to create shame within Johnny such as calling JD a ‘baby’, attempting to use toxic masculinity to put him down and rejecting responsibility. The reluctance to allow Johnny to walk away from fights and get space also screams manipulation and controlling to me.
It must be said that Johnny has been heard using derogatory language towards Amber also, for example calling her a “fat ass” (not acceptable given her history of an eating disorder if you ask me), “c*nt” and more. Clearly Amber is not fat though I can’t comment on the latter without showing prejudice and so it seems these comments are an effort to cause hurt from Johnny (bad form).
JD has also absolutely displayed aggression and abusive language in his text communications to Amber and others around her when speaking about her.
IMO, these are a nasty comments made in anger and frustration, likely intended to cause hurt towards Amber. However, I do not feel like we have seen the same level of psychological or physical abuse demonstrated by JD towards AH, outside of AH’s allegations.
Photographic evidence
Though there is photographic evidence of Amber with bruising, this is also photographic evidence of Johnny with evidence. Furthermore, a Metadata expert has testified that he has seen evidence that the photos had been manipulated and altered to make the bruises look darker/ worse. He presented two images side by side and laid them on top of one another to show the dramatic difference in what Amber shared with the media. I also think what is strange is how Amber was able to record so much evidence, take pictures of JD sleeping and her ‘bruises’ but there is no photographic evidence of the drastic injuries that she has described in her testimony.
Psychology
What really hit the nail on the head for me was the testimony from the psychologist who completed the psychiatric evaluation on Amber. Within this, Amber was required to answer lots and lots of questions on what we call psychometrics (questionnaires) which will have been scored based on her answers to give an insight into her psychology. Some of these tests are designed in a way to identify possible motivations for answering the questions the way you do. For example, some tests are able to identify if your answers reflect a truthful response or over-exaggerated in order to be perceived in a certain way. This latter point is exactly what was identified by Amber Heard’s answers to the psychological tests that were administered. Having administered and scored psychometrics in my professional work I can first handedly say that these tests often provide an accurate representation of the individuals reality. Furthermore, Dr Curry testified that Amber's results on the PTSD scale indicate symptoms related to historical traumatic events (such as her abusive childhood) rather than a recent traumatic event. Notably, Dr Curry is hired by JD’s council and so some may argue that her opinion is biased, however I really got the impression she is an incredibly professional and skills psychologist who was completing a job. Furthermore, the psychological evaluations completed with AH’s council were generally conducted in a fishy manner.
What are Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD) and Histrionic Personality Disorder (HPD)? I hear you ask
BPD is a complex mental health difficulty that affects the way in which individuals experience emotions and relate with others. BPD is characterised by an intense fear of abandonment, inappropriate anger and often impulsivity. HPD is similarly characterised by unable emotions but additionally encompasses a distorted self image and desire to be noticed. There are plenty more to say about these and the diagnoses are not subject to these symptoms - individuals probably experience them on a scale like most mental health conditions but I won’t get into it all here.
https://www.nhs.uk/mental-health/conditions/borderline-personality-disorder/overview/
Interestingly, Both Johnny and Amber's siblings' descriptions of their childhood indicate childhood abuse, possibly complex (different kinds over a long period of time). As we know this can greatly impact one's self-esteem and interpersonal relationships; it therefore wouldn’t surprise me that they ended up in such a hostile environment, given that their early experiences were plagued with violence, aggression and abuse. It is likely that they did not learn how to effectively and healthily communicate their needs without the use of aggression or passivity and it’s possible they may even find comfort in adversity. Amber's possible BPD/HPD diagnosis could also play a part in this.
Random points
Another thing I found very strange was Amber’s persistent looking at the jury during her depositions - I just found it uncomfortable to watch and noticed not many of the other witnesses did this. It felt forced.
Something important to note is that this case is Amber Heard as an individual ; she does not represent all women, individuals with BPD or victims of domestic violence. Some may make assumptions that this is evidence that many young women claim DV for their own benefit but that is not the case and research/ statistics does not support this. In the year 2020 approx 1.6 mil women 16-74 experienced DV in the last year (ONS, 2020).
All this being said, it’s important to note that I in fact know absolutely nothing about what truly occurred and moreso, it’s got fuck all to do with me. I wish both parties the best of luck and hope that they can heal individually and address what they need to so that their future relationships can bring them joy and contentment. Whoever is in the wrong here, Karma will get ‘em.
If i’ve got anything wrong or you think there’s anything important to add, please comment below :)
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