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.

Law and Crime Network.

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."

Law and Crime Network.

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.

Law and Crime Network.

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.

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Topics: News, Johnny Depp

Gregory Robinson

Gregory is a journalist working for Tyla. After graduating with a master's degree in journalism, he has worked for both print and online publications and is particularly interested in TV, (pop) music and lifestyle. He loves Madonna, teen dramas from the '90s and prefers tea over coffee.