What do you mean?
1) The verdicts were regarding the defamation claims. Neither one of them were on trial for DV or for cheating.
2) Saying the verdicts were extreme or off doesn’t equate to saying she OR he is 100% innocent of being abusive. Polar thinking here doesn’t help. Also, I, in particular, don’t think I said that. Do I believe Depp abused her? Yes. Do I think Heard abused him? Yes. But again. That has nothing to do with the defamation claim.
3) I’ve got a few problems with this trial. I believe the jury was unduly influenced because they weren’t sequestered. It’s clear there was a coordinated smear campaign against Heard. I’m not accusing Depp here, but I can’t exclude him either. He has the means and he’s certainly vindictive enough. The jury fell asleep during the trial multiple times. Certain bits of evidence from the UK trial and deposition was not allowed to be presented to the jury, which means if it proved his abuse, she couldn’t use it. In at least one point, it proved he lied about her abusing him because he stated under oath in deposition that he cut off his own finger. He accused her of cutting it off on the stand. If her lying about him is a problem, then him lying about her should be a problem too. Fair’s fair.
4) She never named him in the op-ed and it was already public knowledge that she had accused him of DV prior to the op-ed anyway because she filed a restraining order. It was a matter of public record already. The op-ed itself was more about the societal hate and gaslighting women get when they come forward than it was about him.
5) Depp failed to conclusively prove that her comments and her comments alone were responsible for his loss of income. Same for her charge of defamation too.
All this boils down to my opinion that defamation was a stretch. Certainly the award amounts given the circumstances were beyond thr pale ridiculousness.
I’m not a legal expert and don’t claim to be. I’m not taking sides or choosing one over the other. I think they both need some deep therapy.
To be honest, I don’t care that much. It was eye roll worthy before Uvalde. It was a welcome distraction for a hot minute after Uvalde. In the grand scheme of things, I still mostly don’t care. It’s not the first time a jury or court system has made a bizarre or dumb decision. It won’t be the last.
Hell, look at the abject lunacy coming out of the Supreme Court lately.
It’s not going to affect life for most of us. There’s some speculative debate about whether or not this will end #MeToo, prevent victims from coming forward, and give abusers an established avenue to get revenge (DARVO). There’s hope this will bring attention to male victims.
I think it’s too soon and too speculative. I think Depp is not the poster boy for abused males you want for the same reason Heard should be have been tapped by #MeToo. Heard may be reviled now, but if he ever falls off the wagon and his “monster/ beast" come out, or there’s ever another “situation" with another woman, which is more likely than not given his violence during binges and his violent fantasies … let’s just say men will be more effectively silenced than women ever will. Men will have lost all credibility about DV with their very first step. It will set the issue back decades maybe. And that’s ultimately not good for any survivor of DV.
