Rethinking the Johnny Depp Amber Heard Trial

How Can We Ever Trust Savannah Guthrie After Her Appalling Amber Heard Interview

I saw the Amber Heard Interview by Savannah Guthrie, and it changed my mind about everything. Lindsey’s article about celebrity madness had covered the subject for me, and I wasn’t that interested in the issue of Johnny Depp and defamation. Lindsey pointed out that the relationship was dysfunctional and crazy, who needs to know more. But then the trial and its result took on a whole different life. Was the Johnny Depp vs Amber Heard trial fair? Was it reasonable? No, friends. It was a travesty. It hurt us all. We don’t really know what happened, except that it was a toxic and violent relationship which is often the case when alcohol and drugs are misused.

What Should Justice Look Like

Justice is not about making fun of people, about letting TikTok and the media take over. About mobs of people choosing favorites because they like one person’s madness much better than another’s. Was the jury swayed by the sideshow? Yes, of course it was. Did the jury get the facts, or even understand the issues of addiction, violence, and abuse. No. We haven’t been enlightened. The trial turned out not to be about justice at all. It was a popularity contest. Depp committed perjury many times when he said he had never struck Amber when his violence was absolutely crystal clear. No one cared about that. No one questioned some of the really icky things he asserted with no evidence to back it up.

Domestic Violence Is Something We Should Understand

I get it. A lot of people couldn’t relate to Amber Heard. Her facial expressions and manner were not attractive. She cried too much and appeared to be acting. But when it comes to abuse you don’t have to like the victim. Liking the victim is not the point. Justice is the point, and it shouldn’t depend on likability. The Johnny Depp Amber Heard trial often wasn’t about what it was supposed to be about. Is it okay for men to lash out and be crazy but not women? It appears so.

But now, because of Savannah Guthrie’s appalling interview, I understand Amber a lot better. She told her story, and I saw more than a crazy person here. As I said before, we don’t know what really happened between these two people. But while Guthrie didn’t do a journalist’s job, she did let me see Amber in a different way. The interview made everything exponentially worse as the Daily Beast article about it said because the interview wasn’t unbiased. Guthrie took a side.

Amber Heard Is A Victim Of Abuse But Savannah Doesn’t Know What That Means

Here’s what Savannah Guthrie didn’t do. She didn’t explore the question of how a person is changed by living, or loving, an addict. She didn’t talk about the abuser-victim dynamic. A journalist should never be on the side of people who abuse women. She sounded like the police when questioning a rape victim. Guthrie did us all a disservice because she no idea what it means to be a victim of domestic violence. She doesn’t know how victims of abuse cope, why they stay with their abusers, and all the ways toxic relationships and abuse change a person’s personality.

I do. I know that abusers can be very convincing and make themselves appear to be the victim. Johnny Depp was very good at that. Alcoholics and drug addicts often abuse their loved ones both emotionally and physically. Those loved ones can’t do anything right, and are punished whenever a slight or wrong is perceived. It is the worst kind of hell to live in. Victims are literally driven crazy. When you need to defend yourself against accusations of wrong doing, or causing the violence, you can become outraged and erupt. And you can begin to fight back, even when you’re not a fighter. That’s what Amber Heard couldn’t get across, what Savannah Guthrie didn’t let her do. I don’t want to take a side between Amber and Johnny. Who cares? But I do feel strongly that we address what happens in toxic and abusive relationships. Most often the power and persuasiveness favors the men.