Johnny versus Amber

Four weeks ago, the trial of Johnny Depp VS Amber Heard started, and I decided to watch it. Almost daily, I spend hours on YouTube just watching how everything develops, and it has been brutal. Both sides have thrown some bombs that simply leave me with a sour taste in my mouth. While I am more biased toward one of the sides, I can’t make a definitive judgment just yet (not that making a judgment is my job or anything). However, I do want to talk a bit about what I’ve heard and seen so far. Since they went on break for approximately ten days, I think this is an excellent time to gather my thoughts. My mom would tell me that this is an obsession, and she might be right, but I can’t stop thinking about it.

There are so many contradicting stories, which is to be expected. They are fighting about who’s right and who’s wrong, but the stories we hear from Amber’s side are just so vastly different from what we’ve seen so far in evidence that I believe she will need nothing short of a miracle for the majority of the world to believe her.

So, I will start with what I’ve learned about Amber and Johnny according to the testimonies so far. Both actors began with a rough childhood. Johnny’s mother was erratic at best and abusive at her worst. She would attack her children and husband physically as well as emotionally, and from an early age, Johnny and his siblings learned to run and hide at the first sign of trouble. According to many testimonies, it translated into him walking away from Amber Heard every time an argument started. Amber would say different in her testimony; however, there are some audios of Amber corroborating that he, in fact, would walk away like three minutes into an argument.

Now Amber’s origin is similar to Johnny’s in the sense that she also had a parent who wasn’t stable and, from what I understood, would be drunk and drugged all the time. He would also physically assault his wife, and he was harsh with Amber. Not really sure how bad he was with his children physically since Amber did say that the first time Johnny slapped her was the first time someone had hit her like that. Now, I’m not sure if that means that her father wasn’t physically abusive towards her or if she meant no one had hit her like that as an adult. Nevertheless, that comment causes the first of many seeds of doubts in Amber’s story. There are also many comparisons between Johnny Depp and the horses Amber would help her father break to ride. They say how as a young girl, she would learn to square up to the horse and not show fear the same way she would later face Johnny when he allegedly attacked her. Don’t get me wrong, it’s powerful storytelling, but it feels lacking. And it probably feels that way because of what we’ve heard about Johnny so far; he is not described as some uncontrollable wild horse but more like a troubled man who didn’t like confrontations.

There is a lot of talk about drug abuse that makes me feel icky. Amber’s team seems to rely heavily on Johnny’s drug and alcohol abuse as if that proves his abuse towards Amber. As if all drug addicts and alcoholics are inherently abusive. But just because you suffer from a drug dependency doesn’t mean you will abuse your partner. However, that doesn’t stop Amber’s team from showing photos of Johnny “passed out” as evidence of what? I’m not really sure.

Johnny’s team has relied heavily on character witnesses. They brought witness after witness that testified almost the same thing over and over again. Amber would be the instigator in the fights, and Johnny would be the one trying to walk away. This doesn’t mean Johnny is perfect, doesn’t mean he wouldn’t yell back and probably punch a few walls, but it does show that he wasn’t this monster who would attack her for any and every reason. Amber’s team does make a point to say that all those witnesses are on Johnny’s payroll and insinuate they would lie under oath for Johnny because it is in their best interest that Johnny does well. Each witness held their own against that insinuation, but it planted a seed of doubt in the jury’s mind. I’m honestly unsure of how any of this will turn out. She’s telling a powerful story; the jury is still out whether it’s true or not. And in all honesty, the audios, testimonies, and photos contradict many details in her story.

Now, don’t forget that the “amica” cream is not a magic cure, and makeup hides a lot but swelling? Not so much. Shout out to Paul Bettany, who has been dragged through the mud by Amber’s team, and let’s never forget how Mr. Rottenborn objected to his own question. We’ll see how this develops and if Amber’s cross-examination ends up being as brutal as people expect. Don’t forget to comment your opinion about the case. And remember, do not let this case make you doubt when victims of domestic and sexual abuse speak out. More often than not, the person accusing is telling the truth.

With lots of love,

Mariana Victoria