This is a collection of media commentaries on the Johnny Depp – Amber Heard case. It pulls together media pieces that are informed by knowledge of domestic and sexual violence, their typical dynamics and impacts, or that offer commentary on the wider significance and implications of the case. Suggestions for further commentaries are welcome.
Hobbes' piece below is a particularly thorough account of the history and context for the Depp-Heard trial.
Commentary after the case concluded:
- ABC News, Johnny Depp wins defamation case against former wife Amber Heard. June 2 2022
- Corcoran, A few crucial differences explain why Johnny Depp lost his Amber Heard libel lawsuit in the UK but won the in US. Insider, June 3 2022
- Cunningham, The Ugly Ways TikTok Corrupted the Johnny Depp-Amber Heard Trial. Daily Beast, July 14 2022
- Dickson, 'Men Always Win’ - Survivors ‘Sickened’ by the Amber Heard Verdict. Rolling Stone, June 1 2022
- Donegan, The Amber Heard-Johnny Depp trial was an orgy of misogyny. The Guardian, June 2 2022
- Filipovic, The Depp defamation suit should outrage and appall you. The Guardian, June 2 2022
- Fisher-Quann, Who's afraid of Amber Heard? June 11 2022
- Grady, The Me Too backlash is here. Vox, June 2 2022
- Hinsliff, Was it really asking too much for Amber Heard to be listened to without prejudice. The Guardian, June 3 2022
- Hobbes, The bleak spectacle of the Amber Heard-Johnny Depp trial. The Present Age, June 2 2022
- Kippert, Has Johnny Depp Gaslit Us All? DomesticShelters.org, June 14 2022
- Maley, You deserve what you get- the Depp-Heard trial was the voice in every victim’s ear. Sydney Morning Herald, June 5 2022
- Manne, Why the Internet Sided With Johnny Depp. The Nation, June 6 2022
- Proudman, The Depp-Heard verdict is a gag order for women. The Washington Post, June 2 2022
- Ruiz, Don't trust a society that celebrates the humiliation of Amber Heard. Mashable, June 4 2022
- Vagianos, The Decision In The Amber Heard And Johnny Depp Case Will Silence Survivors. Huff Post, June 3 2022
- Winter, The Johnny Depp–Amber Heard Verdict Is Chilling. The New Yorker, June 2 2022
Commentary during (and after) the case:
- ABC News, Domestic violence advocates warn the Depp-Heard case has amplified 'the myth of the perfect victim'. ABC News, May 29 2022
- Bedera, Why Are So Many Survivors Supporting Johnny Depp? Harper’s Bazaar, May 26 2022
- Demopoulos, I Don't Blame Amber Heard for Forgetting the Makeup She Used on Her Bruises. I Have. Allure, May 20 2022
- Friedman, Why Everyone Online is Having Such a Ball Trashing Amber Heard. Meteor, May 29 2022
- Gerson, Johnny Depp trial unlocks new way for abusers to exert power over survivors, experts worry. The 19th, May 18 2022
- González-Ramírez, The Verdict Proved Her Point. The Cut, June 3 2022
- Grady, Amber Heard did what abuse victims are “supposed” to do. People still didn’t believe her. Vox, August 20 2016
- Hinsliff, ‘It’s harmful and humiliating’: how Amber Heard’s haters undermine the victims of domestic violence. The Guardian, May 16 2022
- L, Amber Heard - The Modern Day Witch Trial. Medium, May 24 2022
- Lampen, Which Women Do We Choose to Believe? The Cut, May 12 2022.
- Maddaus, Why Was Depp-Heard Trial Televised? Critics Call It ‘Single Worst Decision’ for Sexual Violence Victims. Variety, May 27 2022
- Marcotte, Amber Heard on trial: Johnny Depp's defamation case is radicalizing young men. May 24 2022
- Owens, Johnny Depp vs. Amber Heard - Who’s the victim? May 31 2022
- Proudman, Everything we’ve learnt from the Depp v Heard trial. May 28 2022
- Romano, Why the Depp-Heard trial is so much worse than you realize. Vox, May 21 2022
- Rowles, What Exactly Did Amber Heard Do Wrong?, May 19 2022
- Scott, The Actual Malice of the Johnny Depp Trial. The New York Times, June 2 2022
- Sharma, The Depp-Heard Trial Is a Vector for Misogynistic Misinformation. Logically, May 27 2022
- Tiffany, Why the internet hates Amber Heard. The Atlantic, May 2022.
- Vagianos, The Johnny Depp And Amber Heard Trial Is A Media Circus — And We're Losing Track Of What's At Stake. HuffPost, May 17 2022
- Valenti, The Memeification of Amber Heard. June 3 2022
- Venables, Amber Heard's attackers need to remember victims of domestic violence. LBC Views, May 27 2022
- Winter, The Johnny Depp–Amber Heard Trial Is Not as Complicated as You May Think. New Yorker, May 23 2022
- The Daily Wire Spent Thousands of Dollars Promoting Anti-Amber Heard Propaganda. Vice World News, May 20 2022.
Older discussions and legal rulings:
- In 2018, Depp filed a libel lawsuit against the publishers of The Sun (UK) for calling him a “wife beater”. In November of 2020, the UK’s High Court of Justice ruled that 12 of 14 incidents of violence were “substantially true” – that Depp had assaulted Heard on at least 12 occasions – and he was not permitted to appeal the ruling. Justice Nichols’ 2020 findings are here.