Johnny Depp v. Amber Heard defamation lawsuit held in Fairfax County District Court

Once a beloved household name, actor Johnny Depp’s reputation and career has significantly plummeted since his ex-wife and fellow actress Amber Heard’s domestic abuse allegations against him in 2016.

Depp has lost roles and been removed from franchises as major as the Pirates of the Caribbean, which he previously was the face of—and in new roles which he did get, there was immediate public outcry for filmmakers to recast.

“I was a big Johnny Depp supporter. I really liked his movies,” junior Rachel McCollough said. “I had been a big fan of his, but then once once the allegations started coming out, I was really mad and thought he was just an awful person. Like many, I think I just automatically stopped liking him.”

However, new evidence has been uncovered revealing that Heard allegedly had been lying.

Depp’s legal team provided new video and photographic evidence—87 surveillance camera videos and 17 depositions of witnesses, including police officers—that Heard had actually been the abuser, and that she had gone so far as to punch Depp in the face and chop off a part of his finger.

“My viewpoint has definitely changed. With the new facts emerging from the case, I see Johnny Depp more as a victim now,” McCollough said. “Now that the tables have turned, and there’s evidence that Amber Heard was the abuser, I feel very angry for how she used the role of the victim to her advantage.”

Earlier in March, Depp sued Heard for defamation after her publication of an opinion editorial titled “Sexual Violence” in the Washington Post on December 18, 2018.

According to official court documents, “the op-ed depended on the central premise that Ms. Heard was a domestic abuse victim and that Mr. Depp perpetrated domestic violence against her.”

The documents also reveal that Heard revived the false allegations against Mr. Depp in her op-ed—published just days before the premiere of her new film, Aquaman—in order to promote her movie. Additionally, it stated that the actress had allegedly staged the domestic abuse as part of an elaborate hoax to generate positive publicity for herself and advance her own career.

“If this is all true, I feel horrible for Johnny Depp who was put into a horrible situation because he was falsely accused, and also emotionally and physically abused,” junior Izabela Firlej said.

Following her false allegations against Depp, Heard’s career did indeed skyrocket. She has become a leading figure in the #MeToo movement, was the first actress named a Human Rights Champion of the United Nations Human Rights Office, was appointed ambassador on women’s rights at the American Civil Liberties Union, and was hired by L’Oréal Paris as its global spokesperson.

“All I thought was that Amber was being thirsty for recognition and fame, so accusing Depp of a heinous crime would be the quickest,” junior Clarice Clay said. “It’s heartbreaking that people would use a powerful movement like #MeToo for their own gain, but it just proves that we can’t take everything at face value and we need to know all sides of the story before passing judgment on a situation.”

Heard’s alleged actions have made it more difficult for victims of domestic abuse to come forward in the future.

“It’s lessening the legitimacy and credit of an individual, especially if it actually happens in the future,” Clay said.

A case as high profile as this, with a Hollywood starlet as influential as Heard is, creates a negative light of skepticism toward victims who may speak out in the future and highlights the stigma against male victims of abuse.

“Celebrities have a big impact on the general public. Since Amber Heard may have been lying, people may use that as a defense against women who actually have real and valid allegations in the future,” McCollough said. “This case especially sheds a bad light on women who actually suffer from domestic violence and are trying to get their message heard.”