Psychologist Says Depp vs Heard Trial Has 'Vindicated' Male Abusers

Trigger warning: This article discusses domestic violence

A psychologist has warned that the lawsuit between Johnny Depp and Amber Heard has 'vindicated' male abusers.

Depp's high-profile libel case against his ex-wife Heard concluded late last week, and jurors have since begun deliberations.

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The Pirates of the Caribbean star is seeking $50 million from Heard after suing her for defamation over an op-ed she wrote for The Washington Post in 2018. Amber Heard is countersuing Depp for $100 million.

Both sides have testified and accused the other of abuse during the case.

Heard's article does not include a reference to Depp by name, but his legal team argue the article has a 'clear implication that Mr Depp is a domestic abuser', which Depp and his team have said is false.

Jessica Taylor told The Independent she has heard testimonies from women who claim their abusive male partner or ex-partner has referred to them as 'Amber' or 'Ms Heard' when trying to defend themselves.

Dr Taylor – who specialises in sexual violence and victim blaming – said: "Amber Heard has become the personification of victim-blaming and misogyny. The trial has had immense damage and will have ripple effects for years."

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During the trial, the court heard a distressing account of an alleged incident that took place in Australia in 2015. Following the incident, Depp alleged that his finger was injured after Heard threw a bottle in his direction. Heard said she was not awake when the incident occurred.

Providing her own account of the incident, Heard alleged that Depp sexually assaulted her with a bottle on the same night.

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Text messages Depp sent to Paul Bettany were read in court that said: "Let’s burn Amber.”

He added in another message: “Let’s drown her before we burn her. I will f*** her burnt corpse afterwards to make sure she’s dead.”

Dr Taylor called these messages 'misogynist'.

The jury will reconvene to deliberate on Wednesday after they did not come to a decision on Friday, while Monday was Memorial Day, a bank holiday in the US. Deliberations continued on Tuesday, but a verdict was not reached.

If you need information, help or support, you can contact Refuge here.

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