A SOURCED BREAKDOWN OF THE CLAIMS AGAINST JOHNNY DEPP
one must be reminded that much of this is, of course, speculative, and that word from the tabloids must be taken with a grain of salt - however much of the plain evidence available to the media speaks for itself. tmz, despite its generally reprehensible practices, tends to continuously be proven correct, so it is quoted most often here.
although i have considered johnny depp my hero since the age of 11 and can understand how i may come under fire for holding bias, i can assure you that any convincing and substantial evidence against him would horrify me and i would absolutely attest to the fact that he is an abuser. that has not been the case thus far. now i hope to explain why. this is not because he’s “hot” or “talented.” this is because i feel a man has been attacked by a 2016 internet culture that, upon hearing the word “victim,” has thus refused to look at any actual evidence or look past any glaring faults in the accounts of the events that have occurred (and, more importantly, has had the very real sympathy and heartfelt rage of readers and fans taken advantage of and manipulated). should any new and damning evidence come to light, i will unreservedly hold up my hands and admit i was wrong. until then, i urge you to read this in its entirety. i ask that you do not skim it over and then send me angry messages in saying, “WELL WHAT ABOUT [blank]” because i can assure you it will probably be mentioned below.
this post was last updated august 15, 2016. check here to see if any updates have been made.
betty sue palmer, johnny’s mother, dies after a long illness. he was very close to her and she lived in the depp home until her final days. johnny’s family allegedly had a choppy history with amber. multiple sources claim that his family “hated” her because she “treated him like crap.” the alleged abuse the following night is said to have stemmed from lily-rose and jack - johnny’s 17 and 14-year-old children with vanessa paradis - adamantly protesting the presence of amber heard at their grandmother’s bedside.
johnny’s longtime friend, comedian doug stanhope, and his girlfriend bingo are at the apartment that depp and heard share in downtown los angeles. amber is not present. stanhope says that johnny was being unusually vulnerable - not only because of the recent death of his mother, but he stated that amber was going to leave him, and that she would “lie about him publicly in any and every possible duplicitous way if he didn’t agree to her terms.” stanhope adds that everyone in johnny’s inner circle believed that she was using him and was not trustworthy. he claims johnny is suffering from intense anxiety and is distressed and depressed about the state of his marriage. they leave him when johnny says he is going to sleep.
hours later, an alleged domestic disturbance takes place between depp and heard at their apartment. the only witnesses who claim to have seen/heard the abuse that night are two of amber’s best friends - activist iO tillet wright, who was on the phone at the time of the alleged attack - and raquel rose pennington, amber’s friend of 13 years and a neighbor who lived in the same apartment complex.
wright was called up by heard in an attempt to pacify johnny, who was - a bit ambiguously - “obsessing about something that was untrue” (however one might refer to the earlier allegation that the argument was triggered by lily-rose and jack’s dislike of amber), and johnny became “extremely angry.” johnny “ripped the cell phone from [heard’s] hand and began screaming profanities and insults at iO… [amber] heard iO yell at [her] to get out of the house.” it was then that johnny allegedly “wound up his arm like a baseball pitcher and threw the cell phone at [heard] striking [her] cheek and eye with great force.”
here is a photo of the supposed injury.
it seems impossible that an iphone thrown at someone’s face would precisely hit the eye in a way that was perfectly flat, with the edge completely aligned and visible alongside her eyebrow (and not the eyeball). it is a very selective wound, especially when considering it was thrown by a man whose aim might have been severely impaired considering how drunk heard says he was.
those of you who have iphones, put them up to your eye and try to recreate the position of amber’s bruise. you either have to slant your phone past your eyebrow to get the flat edge - but it will not touch your eyelid or the area just beneath your eye (where amber also has apparent bruising). if you lay the phone flat against your eye and beneath your eye socket, it does not line up with the straight mark past her eyebrow. one might argue that the phone could have been thrown while her face was at an angle - still highly unlikely that it would hit her in a perfectly vertical outline of an iphone - but even then, it does not touch the eyelid. perhaps if the phone was used to smack a victim, this injury might somehow (but still improbably) be obtained… however in amber’s statement, she maintains depp “threw” the phone. such a precise and detectable bruise, again, seems a bit impossible with a phone thrown from a distance by an intoxicated individual.
in her statement, heard also says that depp pulled her hair, struck her, and violently grabbed her face. there is no evidence of any of these other injuries in the pictures taken on may 21.
the phone that was allegedly used in the attack has not been recovered or photographed.
heard then texted pennington “asking [her] to come over.” pennington says when she got to the door, it was locked but she “could hear amber arguing inside.” there is no mention from pennington of any security detail being present. she conveniently has a key to the apartment, and lets herself in. heard then states that johnny threw a wine bottle at her and smashed a photograph. pennington then “ran over and stood between” them. she said johnny “charged at” amber, “screaming for her to stand up.” johnny then allegedly left the property, and pennington took pictures of the scene and amber’s face as evidence.
the couple’s security detail, however, tells a different story. they state that they heard amber scream “stop hitting me!” and they rushed to the living room “within a second,” only to find johnny in the kitchen, and amber sitting on a sofa 20 feet away. they maintain they saw absolutely no signs of violence either in the apartment or on amber’s person.
the most direct evidence (that nobody seems to be paying attention at all) against amber comes from the los angeles police department:
“On May 21, 2016, officers responded to a domestic incident radio call…” LAPD Sgt. Marlon Marrache says. “The person reporting the crime [Heard] did not insist on a report and no report was warranted. There was no evidence of any crime. A crime did not occur so the officers left the scene and left a business card.” Marrache adds that if there had been any signs of abuse, officers would have conducted an investigation, regardless of what Heard said had happened.”
this entirely contradicts a statement made by heard’s lawyer, which said:
“The LAPD officers viewed not only the disarray that Johnny had caused in the apartment but also the physical injuries to Amber’s face.”
the LAPD have maintained that there were zero injuries to amber’s face and that there was no sign of any violence at all in the apartment - and again, regardless as to whether or not amber decided to file charges, they would have investigated if they found any signs of violence or abuse.
also note that the LAPD say it was amber who placed the domestic violence call - but in her statement to the court, amber says that iO contacted them.
it seems worth mentioning that amber may not have filed an official police report because if it is eventually confirmed that this is all a ruse, she would be charged with a felony by filing a false report. her lawyers claim it is because she “did not want to hurt johnny’s reputation,” but judging by their behavior since this story broke, this is pretty much bs. the leaks and damaging reports have only been against johnny; despite them claiming there have been “repeated, vicious attacks” from depp’s camp, his side has kept completely silent.
one must also mention the fact that the most recent photo dump of alleged injuries sustained by amber were in fact sent to people freaking magazine - NOT to the police. if heard wanted this all kept quiet in order to “protect johnny’s reputation,” and wanted this done “as privately as possible,” she seems far more intent on giving him a trial by media rather than due process in a court of law.
amber heard attends a friend’s birthday party and is photographed on instagram smiling and having a lovely time. her hair is covering the area where the alleged bruise was obtained, but to me this seems like atypical behavior for a woman who suffered an attack so traumatic the night before that she was inspired to file for divorce the following day.
after claims of the domestic violence broke, heard’s friend deleted the photograph from instagram.
LA criminal defense lawyer sara azari, who lives in depp and heard’s apartment building and has handled domestic violence cases in the past, sees heard in the building’s lobby. she does not notice anything unusual about heard’s appearance, nor do the building personnel, “who have confirmed that, on at least two separate occasions following the alleged incident and before friday’s [temporary restraining order] hearing, [that amber] had no make-up and no bruises on her face.”
amber heard files for divorce from johnny depp, citing irreconcilable differences. no record or mention of any spousal abuse is declared.
johnny’s lawyers release a statement and he declines to pay spousal support or amber’s attorney fees. following their 15-month marriage, heard asks for $50,000 a month in spousal support with no foreseeable end date ($600k per year), 3 penthouses and their utilities paid by Depp ($3-4 million), Depp’s range rover ($60k+), lawyers fees ($100k), and business/agent fees ($25k).
this is separate to any divorce settlement, which would entitle her to half of johnny’s earnings during their marriage - about $15 million dollars.
[depp eventually offered her $50,000 a month for the next 8 months along with a divorce settlement. heard’s camp refused this offer, as it was later revealed that johnny asked for a mutual restraining order against her. i’ll get to that later. one does wonder if this was really about cutting ties with an abuser, she would accept his offer and move on with her life, so long as he was out of it.]
amber’s expense reports also come to light. heard has an income equal to around $10,000 a month - but she spends $44,000 a month.
amber releases the photograph of the alleged iphone bruise from saturday and makes her first claims of abuse at the hands of johnny depp. she serves johnny with a restraining order and makes a statement to the court - again, this is only after her financial proposal is rejected, and not before when she was filing for divorce… nor when the police were at her apartment. she is granted a temporary restraining order against depp, stating she “fears for her immediate safety” - even though johnny is now 10,000 miles away in europe. it also doesn’t make sense that johnny would attempt to pay amber to keep quiet about her beatings, and then refuse to pay spousal support and attorney fees once the divorce was filed.
for all who state “she got a restraining order therefore there was proof she was in danger,” getting a temporary restraining order in california is instantly and almost immediately obtainable to a spouse. it does not require substantial legal proof nor is it permanent; this is decided in a hearing a month later, which in this case was scheduled for june 17, 2016.
amber heard leaves court after meeting with the judge who granted the restraining order. she has a bruise on her face that seems to have held up remarkably over the last 6 days - so it strikes me as odd that it then only took 2 days for it to practically disappear.
since the 29th of may, the following events have transpired:
amber heard releases more photographs of her bruised face to the media - NOT to the police or law enforcement and a domestic abuse charge has still not been filed, and all while heard maintains she wants to keep this matter “private.” (for the record, here are some untouched photos of amber at the same time this alleged abuse occurred, sans bruises or the cut on her lip; she also appeared on the james corden show during this exact time. no make-up artists have ever reported any bruising.) the fact that these are only being leaked to the media and that no legitimate criminal justice is being sought is, to me, suspicious - especially as the only witnesses to come forward with ANY testament of alleged abuse remain amber’s two best friends: iO and raquel. there are no other verifiable reports of any source close to the couple who have attested that heard was abused. there remains no publicly available evidence other than personal photographs (which contradict witness testimony) that any abuse has taken place. the LAPD, the building staff, multiple witnesses, security staff, herds of paparazzi and a catalogue of johnny’s (not to mention the couple’s) longtime acquaintances, friends, family, make-up artists, publicists, hair stylists, and past lovers all categorically have not recorded ANY evidence of prior physical abuse. not a single breath of this has ever been on record or existed before depp turned down amber’s financial demands.
heard releases - again, apparently only to the media - an alleged text exchange between herself and stephen deuters, johnny’s longtime assistant. he is pleading with amber to speak with johnny after an incident where he supposedly attacked her. heard cites previous instances where alleged abuse took place, and stephen maintains depp is in despair and deeply apologetic. stephen says the texts are fake and he is prepared to testify this in court. this is plausible to the naked eye due to the fact that the battery icon in the texts is from an iOS system that existed only after may 2014, when the alleged exchange took place - yet the texts say “today at 1:30 PM.”
heard sues johnny’s friend doug stanhope for libel after he publishes the article linked above, wherein he accused amber of blackmailing johnny. i would not expect that litigation and the protection of one’s perception in the media would be a priority to a traumatized and abused woman going through a painful divorce.
vanessa paradis, johnny’s ex-partner of 14 years and the mother of his two children, pens a letter to the courts, stating that the allegations against johnny are “outrageous” and that johnny was never physically abusive with her. as a matter of fact, there is ZERO history of johnny physically abusing any of his past lovers…
…and that’s not to say johnny hasn’t had his share of scrapes. he has admitted that in moments of anger he will lash out at the scenery. in 1994 he wrecked a hotel room in new york city while fighting with then-girlfriend kate moss. johnny was arrested and then released after he paid the $10,000 bill. in 1999, while dating paradis (who was by now pregnant with lily-rose), depp smacked a photographer on the hand with a piece of wood after being on the receiving end of much harassment:
“We were at a restaurant, and Vanessa was extremely pregnant. All they wanted were photographs of me and Vanessa and the belly. At that point I thought, “Man, I’m not one of those whiny actors who says, Oh, the paparazzi, they won’t leave me alone.” I could give a fuck about it. However, on this particular night I just decided, ‘Look, this is my girl. This is our first baby. I’m not going to let you fucking people turn this into a circus. You ain’t turning this deeply, profoundly beautiful, spiritual, life-changing experience into a novelty. Not without a fight.’ I went out and talked to them. I said, "Look, guys, I know what you’re after. I understand you have a job to do. But you’re just not going to turn this into a circus. Just give us a break. You’re not going to get what you want tonight. I’ll see you another time.” They were very aggressive: “Fuck you, Johnny.” That kind of shit. I swung around and told Vanessa, “Go out the front door, get in the car so they don’t get us together or get your belly.” She did. She was in the car, so everything was going to be cool, but they were so shitty. One guy was trying to hold the door open. He had his hand wedged in there. I looked down at the ground, and there was a 17-inch wooden plank, a two-by-two or something. Instinct took over. I picked it up and whacked the guy’s hand. I went outside and said, “Now I want you to take my picture, because the first fucking guy who hits a flash, I’m going to kick his skull in. Let’s go. Take my picture.” They didn’t take my picture. I was livid. They walked backward down the street. I walked them away from Vanessa in the car and down this other street. It was beautiful. It was well worth it. It was kind of poetic. The next thing I knew, I saw flashing lights on the buildings around me. And a paddy wagon. It was brief. It was around 11:30 or midnight, and I was out by five or six the next morning. No one filed charges against me, because they didn’t want their names exposed. Had they filed charges they would have had to give their names and would have lost their anonymity. The cops were actually terrific, real sweet. As I said, I didn’t mind as much before I had kids. Everything changes when it comes to my children.”
these are the only on-the-record instances of violent behavior from johnny depp, and he has owned up to both of them. he is on the record saying that he is fiercely - and perhaps too fiercely - protective of the people he loves. it would be extremely unlikely for him, according to not only paradis, but his first wife; his daughter; plus multiple friends and family (notably, for example, patti smith, and kate moss, who was with johnny in his most turbulent period of addiction) - to attack somebody that he cares about. he is also not on the record as having a spiteful or antagonistic relationship with any of his past partners. all - including moss, paradis and winona ryder, who cover the last 27 years of his life - continue to speak of him with nothing but fondness.
tearing curtains off a window 22 years ago is scary. it is not the same as pulling chunks of hair out of a woman’s head.
ripping up a pillow 22 years ago is not the same as busting open your wife’s lip.
smacking a piece of wood on the hand of a persistently abusive photographer flashing a camera bulb in your pregnant girlfriend’s face is not the same as taking the woman you love by the scalp and throwing a telephone at her eye.
even in his wildest, darkest days, johnny depp, in all his 53 years, has NEVER BEEN PROVEN TO HAVE PHYSICALLY ABUSED A WOMAN.
…but who DOES have an on-the-record incident of domestic violence committed against a partner?
in 2009, amber and her then-wife tasya van ree got into an argument at an airport. amber seized tasya and struck her in the arm, and also broke a pendant that tasya had been wearing. amber was arrested for misdemeanor domestic violence and, according to police reports, van ree was extremely shaken up by the fight. she later stated that the abuse was over-sensationalized and had hints of misogyny and homophobia (despite the fact that the arresting officer was a gay woman).
heard did not motion to have this incident erased from her record until two years later… when she began dating johnny. and, as mentioned above, when johnny’s team eventually counteracted to amber’s financial demands and he offered her $50,000/month for the following 8 months, he requested a mutual restraining order.
amber refused to grant it.
it’s no secret that johnny’s addictive behaviors have come back - he’s been drinking heavily and has gained weight. one wonders if this was a cry for help on his part. maybe nobody noticed this because of his gender.
iO tillet wright pens an article about why he was “compelled” to call 9-1-1 and finally end the cycle of alleged abuse johnny was inflicting on amber. i think more than most things, this, on a personal level, upset me the most. iO is a wonderful figure and activist who has done so much for the LGBTQ+ community. he is also a longtime friend of amber’s, and this article, to me, offered no further proof of depp’s guilt; it simply embellished amber’s restraining order motion with more adjectives, and then shamed the reader for questioning legitimate holes in real evidence in a case that has the potential to ruin a man’s life. it was riddled with buzzwords that are constantly used in the language of abuse cases, and that infuriated me. it seemed formulaic and designed to tug at a reader’s conscience over their logic, and intent on pinning our very real and horrific societal problem of misogyny and sexual and domestic violence on a single person. i also find it very hard to believe that iO - as heard’s best friend - would NEVER contact the police, even anonymously, or quietly leak all these alleged photographs of depp’s violence to the media. are we really to believe that out of this incredibly tight-knit group of friends surrounding amber that none of them would ever go to the cops or try to have depp held responsible for his actions if she was being so horrifically abused for months and months and months? and that for iO, the “last straw” coincidentally happens to come only after depp refuses to fork out $50K a month for amber?
this leads me to another point. amber heard has expressed in countless interviews her fiercely strong, rebellious and independent nature:
“I think I’ve always had a certain amount of skepticism of this whole ‘shut up and smile’ theory. I haven’t ever swallowed that pill so easily, although I tried.” (x)
“I would love to see women be able to be powerful, complex, smart, opinionated and taken seriously, even if they are beautiful. Even more, I would love to see women held to different standards, other than the superficial ones that we’re held to.” (x)
“All I’ve ever needed is myself.” (x)
“I have been in my fair share of both onscreen and off screen fights.” (x)
“I’m a good shot and I love guns - I own several.” (x)
“There is a common, puritanical way that we look at things where, if it involves sexuality, somehow the women must be compromised. It’s just chauvinistic to deny women their sexuality. It’s about empowering. It comes down to choices. If the choices are available and they’re making that choice, they’re not being exploited.” (x)
“Injustice can never be stood for.” (x)
“I do not hope somebody breaks in. However, if they did, I pity them. I pity the fool that breaks into my house.” (x)
“My father didn’t raise me to be a damsel.” (x)
“School was a waste of time for me. I was bored and left at 16. I started taking correspondence courses at college instead. I did incredibly well. I won an award for my grades.” (same source as quote #5)
“I’d love to teach a self-defense class for ladies, specifically about running away from psychos in masks chasing them with chainsaws.” (x)
why would amber - who owns/is properly versed in firearms, who proudly flaunts her ambition, has repeatedly championed the idea of female strength, and even says she would teach self-defense to women - ever put up with an alcoholic wife-beater?
why would she be so persistently after money (still without filing any domestic abuse charges), to the point of issuing counter-demands after depp has attempted to settle, if she’s so accomplished in her ability to make her own living? and despite having been rendered so terrified and helpless by her alleged attacker, cash and property - not justice, not cutting him off - is still the only thing she’s gone after?
sure, everything she’s ever said could simply be bravado, but i find it incredibly hard to swallow the fact that she could suddenly be so different and so meek compared to the fierce lady she has always portrayed herself to be (the second quote above is only from two months ago). the amber heard from a month ago is not a woman who would have ever put up with the horseshit that johnny has allegedly forced her to endure, and rightly so.
compare this case to that of katie holmes, who is a recent high-profile victim of emotional abuse. she is so terrified of the cult tom cruise belongs to that she obtains secret disposable cells to arrange a new home for herself and her child. she allows cruise visitation, asks for very little financially (and could have asked for much more, according to the judge presiding over the case). she was married 5 times longer than amber was to johnny, and her settlement meant she got to keep everything she had made during their marriage (about $4-5 million along with reasonable child support, considering tom is one of the richest celebrities alive). this, to me, seems the likely behavior of somebody who lives in fear. they plan their escape, they execute it, they keep quiet about it, and they do not demand the high heavens from their abuser. they are just happy to he out of the situation.
in the last couple days (as of 6/11), laura wasser, depp’s attorney, stated she planned to have a settlement conference with heard’s lawyers. this then fell through, and was rescheduled for the following (meaning this) week. wasser then requested a deposition with amber to question her under oath before the restraining order hearing this friday, but was told that amber suddenly could not attend…because she has a costume fitting. (priorities.) not only that, she’s also coincidentally going to the wedding of raquel pennington in new jersey during the time of the requested deposition - one of heard’s 2 key witnesses. so, amber was available for a meeting. when it became a deposition - wherein she would have to be questioned by wasser under oath - she suddenly was not. heard’s team then claimed they were not given enough notice for the deposition - 7 days, instead of the legally required 10. as this was all revealed after the fact, though, personally i believe this to be a clever move on wasser’s part. she knew exactly what she was doing and how heard would come across as being reluctant by refusing, particularly since amber said she was completely available initially, even before they realized the three-day discrepancy. it seems very likely that wasser has evidence against heard but will not release any of it until the court date (which is professional, unlike amber’s lawyer), and it’s rather fishy that amber and her lawyers want more time to get their evidence together. it is worth mentioning that wasser is the one who wants to bring this matter to court, not amber’s lawyers - if she lies under oath, she will have committed perjury. if there was substantial evidence of johnny’s guilt, his lawyer would not push for a court date. they would simply settle, which is all amber allegedly wants.
tmz has obtained a document that amber’s legal team sent to johnny’s entertainment lawyer 3 days after amber alleges the abuse occurred. it only contains financial demands - there are no stipulations about johnny keeping away from amber. it seems that after these demands were not acknowledged, amber might have then resorted to going public by way of drastic measures - claiming that johnny attacked her. this seems to all corroborate doug stanhope’s narrative of events.
according to “sources close to amber” (aka, probably her lawyer), her team is confident that johnny will take the fifth at the upcoming hearing on june 17th. they claim that amber is “eager to testify” - despite her being “too busy” to attend a deposition with johnny’s lawyer (which, to me, would indicate otherwise). this may work against amber’s favor, as since she refused a deposition, the judge may not allow her to testify in her own hearing - and this may weaken her case. the reason for this is because after her first statement, she and her representatives have made more claims to the press and given more detail than they have to a) law enforcement, and b) johnny’s legal team. in common law systems (the US, the UK, australia, etc.) you must give all your case to the other side so they can arrange their defense properly. if amber testifies and uses information they did not disclose to johnny’s team, then johnny does not receive a fair trial and the whole case can be thrown out. taking the fifth is not uncommon in civil cases, even if there is substantial evidence that the defendant is innocent - and in this case it seems the smart thing to do, given that amber instigated a police investigation but did not file any criminal charges that would later get her in legal trouble should her claims be proven false.
yesterday, amber heard called the police when movers showed up to take johnny’s stuff out of the apartment. she said that they were violating the terms of the restraining order which requires johnny to stay 100 yards away from amber - except johnny is in the bahamas, and amber is (apparently? supposed to be?) in london for her “costume fitting.” so neither of them, first of all, appear to be anywhere near the residence, so there’s no violation taking place regardless - but the restraining order also contains a move-out clause, which allows johnny to have personal items removed from the apartment. still, apparently amber heard felt this was an absolute emergency and an appropriate time to use up police resources by calling the cops over something completely legal and where she and depp weren’t even in the same country as their apartment.
amber also withdrew her request for spousal support to be addressed at friday’s hearing - and claims she only asked for it “because she thought it was standard operating procedure in a divorce case.” but (and please pardon my french because i’ve tried to stay as objective as possible through this entire thing), are YOU FREAKING KIDDING ME? so that means her lawyers “thought that was standard operating procedure” too? really? and that all of this is because it’s a misconception of the justice system judged not only by the claimant but ALSO her lawyers?? and for the record, this does not mean she’s dropping her request for spousal support altogether. this just means that she can have a separate hearing to discuss that after she gets the restraining order stuff out of the way. she is, according to the official paperwork, only withdrawing the request for spousal support because she does not like what it is doing to her reputation. again - and this is a massive red flag for me - she seems far more interested in what the public think of her than she does in just getting the hell out of her allegedly abusive marriage.
amber - who was supposed to be in london this week for a costume fitting and cited this as the reason she could not attend a deposition requested by johnny’s lawyer - was photographed out and about in los angeles when she was supposed to be in the UK. her lawyers are claiming the fittings were cancelled because amber has lost so much weight “due to stress.” this is a serious issue for amber’s credibility; her lawyers insisted that amber was not in town when she actually was. they also maintained this with depp’s legal team. in short, they flat-out lied.
make of this what you will, but a former friend of amber’s has made a statement on facebook in johnny’s favor. it cites, among other things, that amber is a drug abuser, a narcissist, a manipulator, and has a tendency to become violent.
conflicting sources on this, but it’s been confirmed that tomorrow’s restraining order hearing has been postponed at the request of both parties. this is likely due to the fact that heard’s camp have previously stated that they needed more time than the judge allowed in order to gather evidence (none of amber’s so-called witnesses have even had a subpoena served to them, which is unusual), and johnny’s lawyer seems very intent on still obtaining depositions from amber and her two witnesses - this indicates to me that, even if they end up on a settlement, johnny is going to sue amber for defamation of character.
amber’s team boasted earlier today that they are confident to take the stand and think johnny is “afraid” of what she has to say, though i cannot give much weight to this knowing that amber won’t even sit in on a deposition because she has an imaginary costume fitting in london and all evidence thus far has been given to the public in exchange for cash, and not to actual law enforcement. as each day goes on, her behavior makes it more and more difficult for me to believe she has ever received any mistreatment at johnny’s hands.
winona ryder, johnny’s former girlfriend, has spoken out to time magazine about the claims against him:
Interest in that relationship endures and leads me to ask her about allegations that Depp’s current wife, Amber Heard, has made that he physically abused her. She calls the thought “unimaginable.”
“I can only speak from my own experience, which was wildly different than what is being said,” Ryder says. “He was never, never that way towards me. Never abusive at all towards me. I only know him as a really good, loving, caring guy who is very, very protective of the people that he loves.”
“I wasn’t there. I don’t know what happened. I’m not calling anyone a liar. I’m just saying, it’s difficult and upsetting for me to wrap my head around it. Look, it was a long time ago, but we were together for four years, and it was a big relationship for me,” she says. “Imagine if someone you dated when you were—I was 17 when I met him—was accused of that. It’s just shocking. I have never seen him be violent toward a person before.”
johnny has put forth a request that the divorce proceedings from here on out remain confidential, after amber’s team has consistently been leaking details to the press. amber is refusing to sign a confidentiality agreement unless johnny dishes out all info on his finances - including the personal finances of his bandmates. (one must be reminded that all proceeds from hollywood vampires’ gigs are donated to the starkey foundation.) amber’s insistence on acquiring financial information that is irrelevant to the case - still having NEVER filed a police report or pressed any criminal charges - remains an ongoing theme: she only gives a shit about the money. my personal guess is that she saw the funds that hollywood vampires have raked in for charity ($9.5 million last weekend alone) and wants her lawyers to determine if any of that money rightfully belongs to her. johnny understandably does not wish to have his financial information revealed to the public - but acknowledges that amber has every right to see it. it’s just that so far amber’s team has proved to be completely incapable of keeping anything private, so a confidentiality would not go amiss. but again. amber refuses to sign.
UPDATE: 8/14 - (i apologize for the lateness of this update; i moved to LA a week ago and have been trying to get settled, but now i should be able to refresh this post as events occur.)
last saturday, amber was finally supposed to sit for a deposition with johnny’s lawyer. she was an hour and a half late, and once she arrived, she refused to speak to anyone on johnny’s team and allegedly shut herself in a separate office and threw a tantrum. she was in the building for about eight hours, and left with zero accomplished, and also refused to hand over documents that depp’s team had requested. amber denies this. she can’t, however, provide an explanation as to WHY in the hell johnny’s lawyers WOULDN’T talk to her, when his lawyers were the ones who requested the depo in the first place (several times, all of which she’s either been “unavailable” or refused to attend), had a videographer on hand, and literally had everything ready to go? and amber’s explanation is just “they’re lying!!!! they’re so malicious and mean!!!!” (in my purely speculative opinion, is it just me or does amber’s team sound a lot like donald trump’s camp.. all they seem to do is deny anything that paints amber in a remotely negative light and then provide either zero proof or a shit load of lies to back it up.) she said she was only an hour and a half late to the depo because she was “blindsided” by paparazzi - even though she knew the paps would be there before she arrived.
johnny has 23 witnesses - mostly strangers, but including his ex, vanessa paradis - to testify either for his character OR that they saw literally zero evidence of any domestic abuse during the entirety of amber and johnny’s relationship. this includes the original 2 police officers who showed up at the scene and stated for the record that there was no evidence of a crime having taken place (even though amber’s legal team lied and said the officers saw it and it was on the record). amber has 7 witnesses. they are all her friends. amber’s own publicist will also be testifying on johnny’s behalf. their housekeeper, hilda vargas, also allegedly found some vitally important evidence in the home that “proves” that amber is lying, but we have no idea what that is just yet.
amber was supposed to show up for her second attempt at a depo on friday. she missed it. because she was “stranded” in london, though, according to her legal team, somehow this is ALL a part of johnny’s “malicious war against amber in the court of public opinion in an effort to intimidate and discourage amber from telling the truth.” …ok. also, she has allegedly started dating elon musk… a billionaire.
finally, the big one that i know everybody has been waiting for… a video has been “leaked” of johnny getting pissed off at amber. he’s quite obviously drunk. he slams some cabinets, shouts at her, and breaks a wine glass. apparently for most people this counts as earth-shattering, irrefutable proof that johnny depp is a violent wife-abusing piece of shit. i must still, at this point, disagree. “OH COME ON,” some of you are shrieking. “THIS SURELY IS THE PROOF IN THE PUDDING, YOU ONLY LIKE HIM CUZ HE’S HOT AND CAN ACT.” no. stop. just stop. first of all, the video is edited - and this is not edited for public consumption, this is the ACTUAL video that is allegedly being submitted to the court - why the fuck would it need editing? because dialogue was changed and material was taken out of it. professional videographers in the TMZ comments have provided several substantiative breakdowns showing that some of her speech has been clipped and that it’s obvious due to the poor quality of the recording and that it appears the lines were edited with imovie. she’s also fucking laughing in the video. laughing. how on earth could this be an honest moment of horror in this woman’s life if she is laughing at him and then snips the video around to make him look as scary as possible? she also seems to be oddly pushing weird, “sweet,” passive aggressive language. it seems his anger has nothing to do with her but she keeps pushing his buttons to make it about her and then get him to take his feelings out on her (note that when she first asks him what’s wrong, he replies “nothing” quite sweetly - then it’s suddenly all conveniently choppy and cut up. did she take this video on a motorola razr? seriously?). the beginning is also cut off, so we don’t know precisely what happened to make him so angry. what if she said something about his kids? his mom? what if he got some bad news about her illness? i know that’s all speculative and going apeshit is no excuse - dude’s got some STUFF to work on - but johnny is on record, on his own admission, of having a shitty temper. he takes it out on scenery. but never on people. he slammed some freaking cabinet doors and broke a glass. i’ve done worse when i’ve been drunk and angry. it might be scary but i don’t think it makes me a monster. this was filmed around the time his mother was dying, and if somebody started filming me when i was weak, depressed and lost, i would lose my goddamn mind. anyone who looks at this video and says “this isn’t normal!” either isn’t being honest with themselves or has been lucky enough to never personally deal with the demons of addiction or depression, or the illness of a loved one and how that might impact you, and the fact that him getting angry is immediately equated to “he beats his wife” is problematic as shit. if this were a woman, nobody would then think the logical next step would be “well of course then it turned off and she lunged over and beat her partner.” you would see someone weak, desperate and very, very low who clearly had a drinking problem. i think honestly these are two people who brought out the absolute worst in each other. i get upset that this is being interpreted by tumblr as amber heard leaking something that is allegedly “normal” behavior for johnny, when there is overwhelming proof that that is not the case, and that around the time that their marriage began to deteriorate his mother, whom he was immeasurably close to, was dying of a long and terrible illness. i tend to give up on appealing to logic on tumblr because there is literally nothing that i could do or say to change the minds of 90% of people on here, and honestly that’s really not what i’m trying to do. i’m trying to just gather the evidence and allow people to decide for themselves. but as this case goes on and on and gets uglier and uglier, i cannot help but get defensive and lose my cool because it truly disturbs me how naive or judgmental or cruel or outright dismissive some people can be. a video has been released of johnny depp getting pissed off at his wife (edited, while she laughs at him, with the source of the argument unknown). if you scroll up and read through this ENTIRE post again, and up until this point in time, you found the evidence to be in his favor and to be sound and accurate, your opinion SHOULD NOT HAVE CHANGED. there is NOTHING in this post thus far that makes this video a surprise. johnny depp punches walls when he gets angry. amber heard manipulates situations in her favor. she lies and she cries and she denies when the camera’s on her. i still see zero proof that this is a woman who was physically abused by her husband - i would cite emotional abuse perhaps, but her behavior - and subsequent alteration of the footage itself - in this video totally wipes out that possibility in my head. i still see zero proof that this is someone who is after anything but a huge payout. i see two people who were really really really bad for each other and should just not have fucking gotten married.
amber has denied leaking the video footage. just like she has denied leaking literally everything else that she alone has leaked. not a single whisper or peep or blip has escaped johnny’s side, yet somehow, mysteriously, EVERY SINGLE THING in this mess of a character-assassination-by-media has come from her legal team. the timing of the video’s release is also very odd, considering they were incredibly close to simply reaching a settlement (which is all amber’s team wants - that way she can just get paid and not have to do anything under oath and therefore not commit perjury if she is lying; again WHY WOULD DEPP PUSH FOR A DEPOSITION/TRIAL IF HE WAS ABUSIVE? WHY WOULD HE REFUSE TO PAY HER ATTORNEY FEES/MEET HER FINANCIAL DEMANDS IF HE INITIALLY ALLEGEDLY OFFERED A PAYUP FOR HER TO BE QUIET ABOUT THE “ABUSE”?), but this video was leaked just a couple hours before she was supposed to take her second deposition after the failed first one and she got more shit about being flaky and inconsistent. the video’s release might just bump up the figures. at least that’s amber’s hope. the fact that the video is heavily edited though means it will probably not be admissible in court. whoops.
amber has - freaking again - leaked another photo, this time of johnny allegedly obtaining a very, very gruesome injury after he apparently raged at the scenery believing that amber cheated on him with billy bob thornton. after accidentally cutting off the tip of his finger, johnny allegedly dipped the stump in blue paint and wrote on a bathroom mirror, accusing amber of being “easy” with billy bob. first of all i’d really like to know where the blood is, because that is a really messed up injury and there should be blood all over the bathroom, let alone on that mirror. this all allegedly went down when the pair where in australia while johnny was filming pirates 5. amber also claims he wounded his FOREFINGER - the finger one assumes he would have used to write a message on a mirror - but the bloody photo shows an injured RING finger. it also shows a LEFT hand, whereas the photo of johnny’s face and hand in the article shows a long-healed injury on the MIDDLE finger of his RIGHT hand. so. that’s weird. i still want to know why she is leaking evidence rather than waiting for the hearing. if she has a solid case, then that is where it should be presented. playing all of this out in public is not pursuing justice, it is pursuing a vendetta. this is the woman who refused to file a police report because she “still loves johnny” and “doesn’t want to bury him,” and two days ago, she stated that she was trying to make “the healthiest choice” for both of them and would be ensuring things would be conducted privately from now on - but surprise surprise, here comes another photo. her actions constantly betray her words. she has consistently bypassed and hindered due legal process by leaking and selling pictures and articles, yet has the gall to claim that it is she who is being attacked and intimidated. we have no account of this incident apart from her own. there seem to have been no witnesses… again. no medical records are mentioned. even if it is true, all that it shows is that johnny can be self-destructive, which is no surprise to most of us. it in no way validates her claims of abuse. her case rests on allegations of physical harm to her person, and this photograph, nor any of the previous evidence she herself has leaked, does not address them. if her husband behaved in this way, her priority should surely have been to encourage him to seek help - not to photograph and film events to squirrel away for future use. and no, i still do not believe she was ever in fear for her safety. her original lawyers letter refutes this by using the TRO as a bargaining tool in divorce negotiations and making not a single reference to johnny even being required to stay away from her - something one would have expected to be her first priority.
amber finally sat for her deposition yesterday, but we have heard nothing about what went down other than that amber and her lawyer could not account for why literally every person on earth did not see any injuries on her face on and after may 21st whenever she was not making a public appearance.
the pair are still trying to reach a settlement, but it has hit a wall, because despite being offered $8 million amber still wants more… please be reminded they were married for one year - but hey, it’s not about the money, right. she wants a joint statement with johnny admitting to the abuse, which he obviously will not. she’s also hired a new lawyer (her third so far).
this post will be added to as things proceed. for now, i urge you to look at the evidence before you - and i will also keep an open mind and look at what surfaces in the next few days. don’t hesitate to contact me if you have any questions or wish to discuss or disagree, i just ask you come at me with politeness and respect. i am a staunch feminist and have always, always, always sided with any victim before the accused in any situation - even if the accused is my lifelong hero. i have personal experience with emotional abuse at the hands of an alcoholic, and have witnessed the devastating physical abuse of many friends at the hands of their partners.
amber’s lawyer called her client a “hero.” amber heard is not a hero. based on the evidence thus far, amber heard has made a mockery of real victims of abuse. she has lied and manipulated and assassinated a man’s character, and, should this all unravel around her, she is going to perpetuate the disturbing, terrifying, and all-too-believed myth that women always fake the atrocities that befall them for financial gain.
dailybridgerton
turnnoffyourmind
andulkaphoto
areudirty
vaporwave
titsay
kaledo-art
tangentwithtanner
pixelskylines
