Photograph Illustration by Thomas Levinson/The Every day Beast/Getty Photos
After a extremely publicized seven-week-long trial, a jury discovered Aquaman actress Amber Heard responsible of defamation in opposition to her ex-husband, actor Johnny Depp, on Wednesday for a Washington Submit op-ed through which she mentioned her experiences with home abuse. Depp was awarded $15 million in damages ($10.35 million given the state’s punitive damages cap), and Heard acquired $2 million.
Depp had beforehand misplaced a libel go well with within the U.Okay. in opposition to The Solar after the tabloid branded him a “wife-beater,” with the choose discovering that Depp had dedicated 12 of 14 alleged incidents of violence in opposition to Heard. Whereas she didn’t title Depp within the Washington Submit article, the Pirates of The Caribbean star and his protection staff argued that Heard’s implicit allegations hindered his profession. Concurrently, the jury sided with Heard on one in every of her claims that Depp’s lawyer, Adam Waldman, defamed her when he known as her abuse allegations a “hoax,” sending a slightly perplexing, saddening message to victims of intimate companion violence and setting a troubling precedent for home abuse circumstances to come back. (Waldman was additionally kicked off the trial staff for leaking data to the press.)
A lot of the web discourse throughout the trial (and, most certainly, within the days following) has centered on Depp’s feverish military of on-line supporters and the almost inescapable #JusticeForJohnnyDepp social media marketing campaign that included propaganda funded by conservative media outlet The Every day Wire. Depp additionally had many vocal allies in Hollywood all through the authorized saga, together with ex-partners Winona Ryder and Kate Moss, the latter testifying on his behalf throughout the trial, and pal Paul Bettany. The Every day Beast additional found a handful of celebrities, akin to Jennifer Aniston, Florence Pugh, Bella Hadid, Taika Waititi and Emma Roberts, had appreciated Depp’s post-trial celebratory assertion and different pro-Depp sentiments on Instagram.
The quantity of cruelty and ignorance displayed by Depp’s followers and supporters all through the proceedings spoke volumes in regards to the state of #MeToo and our tradition’s restricted understanding of home abuse. However the silence that surrounded Heard, particularly from her personal business, teaches an equally priceless lesson in regards to the fickleness of celebrity-led social actions and sophistication solidarity among the many wealthy and well-known.
Except for Uncut Gems star Julia Fox, comic Kathy Griffin and veteran actress (and Depp ex) Ellen Barkin, who testified on Heard’s behalf, you’d be hard-pressed to search out any high-profile movie star at the moment talking out for her. Comic Amy Schumer, an outspoken feminist, alluded to the outcomes of the Depp/Heard listening to and the spectacle surrounding it, posting a Gloria Steinem quote on Instagram. Nonetheless, for no matter purpose, Schumer was not snug calling out Johnny Depp or referring to the case explicitly within the method she known as out, say, Will Smith beforehand for his Oscars incident. Heard’s Aquaman co-star Jason Momoa appreciated her assertion on Instagram however, unusually, double-tapped Depp’s as properly.
The dearth of assist from Heard’s business friends, particularly, is telling, provided that it was solely 5 years in the past when Hollywood rallied round survivors of sexual assault and harassment following the bombshell accusations in opposition to producer Harvey Weinstein. A-list actors, filmmakers, and entertainers alike—largely ladies, but additionally some males—appeared snug and even keen to debate the abuses they'd endured working in Hollywood and inspired different survivors throughout profession fields to share their tales. Some even apologized for working with predatory males up to now, like Woody Allen, Roman Polanski, and Weinstein. Their most notable collective effort was the formation of Time’s Up, a non-profit group that was initially based as a authorized fund for victims of office harassment however has taken on a way more complicated mission within the years following.
From the beginning, the movie star involvement in Time’s Up was met with harsh criticism, provided that, for essentially the most half, the film and tv stars representing the non-profit weren’t activists and had no documented organizing expertise. Celeb board members included Schumer, Brie Larson, Reese Witherspoon, Jessica Chastain, Kerry Washington, Laura Dern, Alyssa Milano, America Ferrera, and Julianne Moore, amongst others. Over time, their efforts additionally appeared restricted to rising variety and illustration in Hollywood with little outreach to ladies throughout financial traces.
Since launching in 2018, Time’s Up has additionally come below fireplace for the quantity of raised funds allotted to worker salaries and revelations that the group’s former CEO and co-founder, Tina Tchen, suggested then-New York Governor Andrew Cuomo’s administration after he was accused of sexual harassment in 2020. That was additionally the identical yr that one in every of Time’s Up attorneys, Roberta Kaplan, who was initially representing Heard in Depp’s defamation lawsuit, withdrew from her case resulting from “journey and logistics” points brought on by COVID. Nonetheless, the group has but to touch upon the viral smear marketing campaign that Heard has endured and the implications it might have on victims, like different organizations have because the trial.
Amber Heard waits earlier than the jury introduced a break up verdict in favor of each Johnny Depp and Amber Heard on their declare and counter-claim within the Depp v. Heard civil defamation trial on the Fairfax County Circuit Courthouse in Fairfax, Virginia, on June 1, 2022.
Evelyn Hockstein/AFP/Getty
By way of the well-known ladies (and a few males) who aligned themselves with Time’s Up and its mission, it looks like their social-justice batteries have run out as properly, even earlier than Heard’s alleged abuse grew to become public fodder. The final time we noticed actors and administrators like Ava DuVernay, Tracee Ellis Ross, Ellen Pompeo, Jennifer Aniston, Rashida Jones and Judd Apatow working publicly with the group, they have been circulating the hashtag #TimesUpGlobes in response to the revelation that the Hollywood International Press Affiliation had no Black members on the time. It was in the end a conservative, insignificant initiative amid nationwide police brutality protests with little to no impact on nearly all of the Black inhabitants. Nevertheless it was an ideal encapsulation of the group’s—and Hollywood’s—sorry contributions to urgent social points.
Likewise, it’s not a lot of a shock that the movie star feminists who used Time’s Up and the #MeToo motion to develop a extra socially-aware model and get their “female-centered” tasks greenlit have seemingly turned a blind eye to the injustices Heard has confronted in entrance of the world, and can proceed to endure following Wednesday’s verdict. A lot was mentioned in the beginning of #MeToo about celebrities’ activism efforts solely extending to their very own. Nevertheless it looks like they’re additionally incapable of supporting their friends on the threat of web backlash. Heard’s social rating as an actress who’s not significantly well-known outdoors of her contributions to the Aquaman franchise—and particularly compared to her movie-star ex-husband—is also an element.
The media circus surrounding Heard would’ve been an amazing alternative to reignite a few of Hollywood’s extra clever, politically energetic voices of their mission to fight violence in opposition to ladies and perhaps even make up for among the destructive press Time’s Up has accrued over the previous three years. However in contrast to when gender equality and sexual abuse grew to become a sizzling subject throughout the Trump years, there’s nothing to be tangibly gained for supporting Heard. For now a minimum of, Hollywood’s self-described feminists appear simply as content material as the remainder of the world watching #MeToo fall by the wayside.