The Result of the Trial is Devastating for Heard — and Others?
Many people have been calling Heard the abuser; I don’t really think that’s true, but let’s say it is. For argument.
What she did to Depp is so much less than what abusive men have been doing to women for years. She has to pay him 15 million dollars, because she wrote an anonymous article about him.
Her net worth is less than 8 million; if we deduct the 2 million dollars the jury rewarded her (which is very confusing; why did they award them both damages, and if they did, doesn’t it imply she wasn’t lying?) then this still leaves her 5 million in debt, and also unemployable.
When I think of what your average abused woman gets from a man who — literally — beat and often threatened to kill her, it seems outrageously unfair. It’s also worth noting, Depp didn’t win his defamation case against The Sun, and The Sun literally called him a wife beater, which is much worse than what Heard called him. So, it sort of seems like… people with money and power just get to push around people with less money and less power?
However, the most disturbing part of it all to me is, the jurors were not sequestered during this trial. What this means is, they did have access to social media, although the judge asked them “in good faith” to not look at it.
But, what if they did look? Let’s say they were exposed to much of the anti-Heard advertising that were literally funded by pro men’s rights activists. Is it possible, that this advertising literally impacted the outcome of the trial?
There’s no way to know; but for even the most pro-Depp fan, the repercussions of this should be chilling.
- Why was there such a difference between what a wealthy company was allowed to publish about him vs a private individual?
- Is it possible that funded social media activities are powerful enough nowadays to change the course of justice?
You know, in a way, I hope she was an abuser. I frankly find it hard to believe she was the primary one at fault given the stuff Depp said about her (you know, like wanting to fuck her burnt corpse) but maybe. But if she was, at least that means there’s still hope for equity under the law. What I think more likely, however, is she just had less power than Depp and we live in a world where the less powerful have to suck it from the powerful.
And, personally, I see this trial as a sign that we are moving towards less equality — and that especially, people with less money are going to be at the mercy of those with more money from hereon out.
