Amber Heard released an article in 2019 alleging that her ex-husband Johnny Depp had abused her, people listened, and Depp was quickly "cancelled" by social media. However, years after their 2016 divorce, new evidence has surfaced that many feel completely discredit Heard's story. 

The History Of The Feud

Their very public 2016 divorce came after 15 months of marriage and was wrought with an abuse allegation. In divorce documents, Heard alleged what she described as emotional and physical misconduct at the hands of Depp. "During the entirety of our relationship, Johnny has been verbally and physically abusive to me. I endured excessive emotional, verbal and physical abuse from Johnny, which has included angry, hostile, humiliating and threatening assaults to me whenever I questioned his authority or disagreed with him," she said. 

In 2018, Heard went on to write an article about being a domestic abuse survivor, not citing Depp's name but making it clear that her alleged abuser was her ex-husband. Depp went on to lose an array of film opportunities behind the allegations and was ultimately "cancelled" by social media.

Since then, Heard has provided evidence to support her allegations of abuse in court filings, including photos of her with bruises on her face and scars on her arms. Depp has denied the abuse and claimed it was Heard who was abusive toward him during their marriage.

The New Audio Proof

Proof has come out that Amber Heard committed domestic violence against her then-husband Johnny Depp. Recordings obtained by The Daily Mail show an admitted history of violence by Heard. In this recording, Heard admits to hitting Depp, and “starting a physical fight.”

Her temper is so severe that she finds herself unable to control it, saying “You poke an animal enough, it is eventually, it doesn’t matter how friendly it is, it’s not cool.”

She goes on to exhibit classic gaslighting behaviour, telling Depp she didn’t hurt him, despite having hit him. “ I’m sorry that I didn’t, uh, uh, hit you across the face in a proper slap, but I was hitting you, it was not punching you. Babe, you’re not punched… I don’t know what the motion of my actual hand was, but you’re fine, I did not hurt you, I did not punch you, I was hitting you.”

The publication of the taped conversation prompted many to flood Twitter in support of Depp, with hundreds of thousands of supporters using the hashtag #JusticeForJohnnyDepp.

What This Means

Now that the recordings have been released, Twitter users have launched #JusticeForJohnnyDepp, sharing messages and gifs in support of the defamed actor.

The trend of people being quick to indulge in "cancel culture" has been in the limelight for its toxicity. Depp denied the claims in court and otherwise on multiple occasions but those claims didn't see the light of the day. He also mentioned multiple times that Amber Heard was the one eliciting the abuse on Depp, but the claims were dismissed.

The multiple roles Depp lost and the defamation these false accusations cost him are beyond repair. Men who suffer domestic abuse are often not taken seriously. Conventional wisdom is that men can’t get beaten up by girls, or that they are better able to defend themselves against the violence of the weaker sex.

Heard used this narrative for her benefit. In her article, she wrote “I was exposed to abuse at a very young age. I knew certain things early on, without ever having to be told. I knew that men have the power—physically, socially and financially—and that a lot of institutions support that arrangement. I knew this long before I had the words to articulate it, and I bet you learned it young, too.”

In The Era Of #MeToo

Since the #MeToo movement took over Twitter in 2017, 11 years after Tarana Burke founded it in 2006, an important conversation has made its way to the limelight.

Critics of the movement, who include women, have argued that #MeToo has gone too far in its pursuits, dispersing vengeful character defamations. While very few rape accusations are false, and men are statistically more likely to be raped than falsely accused, there is a danger of unconditionally believing the accuser.

This trend has also seeped into most other forms of abuse women and men have to endure. The case of Johnny Depp is one such example. While it is important that we believe women, and it always will be - that sentiment should also rely on a more proof-based ideology.

The number of false accusations has historically been very little considering the fact that often the accuser is the one who faces the worst ordeal. But even then, looking at the Amber Heard case, we can believe the accuser while simultaneously making sure that we haven't missed any particular important details.