The defamation trial between Johnny Depp and Amber Heard has made the headlines of many news outlets for weeks now while it is the talk of all social media. If you are like me – and cannot watch YouTube all morning long because you have a daytime job – you may have caught a few excerpts of the trial and watched Amber Heard’s testimony last week. For two days, she gave a very tearful testimony and described, in shocking details, the abuse she allegedly endured from Depp. She described many physical altercations during which Johnny Depp allegedly hit her in the face many times, threw things at her, slammed her against walls, punched her, and threatened to “fucking kill” her… She also mentioned Depp’s drug addiction and said he often passed out in his own vomit and lost control of his bowel movements. Heard even narrated a deep cavity search when Depp thought she was hiding his cocaine. For two days, she described multiple examples of repeated sexual and physical assaults, giving graphic details during a litany of complaints, even involving a sexual act with a bottle that left Amber bleeding. Her testimony should come with a PG13 warning.
However, the main problem with Heard testimony is that she was not able to provide physical evidence to support her shocking claims. You would think that a visit to the E.R. would be necessary after being penetrated with a broken bottle, but, so far, no hospital records have been shown in court. This is the same thing for her alleged broken nose: while she recorded and filmed plenty of their fights — and you have to wonder what she intended to do with all these recordings at the moment — her team has not provided a photo of her bruised face. On the other hand, Depp’s fans have posted plenty of photos of Heard, make-up free and showing a bruise-free face around the time of the alleged accidents. She has also claimed using a specific concealer to cover her bruises when she appeared on the Late Late Show with James Corden, while the brand caught her lying and declared that the said concealer kit was launched in 2017, after Depp and Heard split. To be fair, there was one photo showing Amber with a bruise on her arm, but it is very little and in no way evidence that could match the terrible fights and physical trauma she has described in court.
I am not going to go over all the details of her testimony, plenty of YouTubers are very busy exposing Amber Heard (here, here, here…) and you could spend the entire week or month watching the content that this circus trial has generated. Honestly, if you have to watch one video, watch this one: a recording of the aftermath of the Australian accident during which Amber severed the end of Johnny Depp’s finger. It is very telling.
Last Monday, Depp concluded his testimony by saying he was the victim of domestic violence whereas Heard has falsely portrayed him as a domestic abuser.
Do I think Depp is a saint? Of course not, he was abusing drugs and alcohol during this nightmare, and they had a truly toxic relationship. But we have to establish who was inciting violence. It’s a fact that Heard never went to the hospital, while Depp was transported to the hospital to reattach the tip of his finger during the bloody incident in Australia.
If most people are defending Depp and exposing Heard’s lies, she still has plenty of supporters, and taking a side in this story is always tricky. Terms like “power imbalance,” and of course “misogyny” will regularly be thrown at your face by the Heard team if you support Depp.
This leads us to the topic of this post: Paul McCartney, who is currently touring North America, showed his support for Johnny Depp during a recent concert in Seattle. The ex-Beatles performed his song, “My Valentine,” while showing a recording of Depp playing guitar. Nobody in the audience could have missed the large black-and-white projected video of Depp, which comes from the 2012 music video for the song also starring Natalie Portman. This is not the first time McCartney is using the footage in concert, but the circumstances are obviously very different now as he must know that Depp is in the middle of a furious defamation suit against his ex-wife. McCartney knows that this would take a completely different meaning this time: The performance was posted all over social media and interpreted as a support for Johnny Depp. Even Jill Vedder, Eddie Vedder’s wife, posted this video on her Instagram page with the following caption:
“Might be controversial to post this video with J.D
Don’t care
Know him only to be a gentleman…
And while I support women and the ME TOO movement
I also know some women who have destroyed the lives of innocent & good men. .. @johnnydepp … p.s verbal abuse is not cool either.. watch your tongue”
Of course, Macca supports Depp because he knows one thing or two about being trapped in a toxic relationship. Does Heather Mills ring a bell? In a very similar manner, he lived a nightmare as his ex-wife also accused him to be a drunk and a wife-beater. The allegations were recognized to be lies thanks to the testimony of an ex-publicist (among other people). Paul McCartney has been there, exactly where Johnny Depp is at this moment. But he is still brave to take a side in the middle of this mess. McCartney is playing in Los Angeles this Friday, let’s see if he reiterates his support for Johnny Depp in the movie star’s hometown.