Why are some feminists buying into the narrative that the Johnny Depp-Amber Heard trial verdict is a fatal blow for #MeToo? We have always known that there would be false allegations of abuse among genuine #MeToo disclosures. Some women lie, just as some men do. And we knew that women would continue not to be believed. #MeToo is about removing systemic barriers that prevent the abuse of women being treated seriously. It is about treating women as believable and their allegations as important. There is no reason why Heard’s loss should undermine that.
Fighting that good fight is not helped, however, by some commentators’ willingness to skate over evidence that Heard herself was repeatedly violent towards Depp. Dismissing this with terms such as “imperfect victim” is troubling. And, ironically, it risks reinforcing toxic ideas about masculinity – take it like a man, stop being a baby – that anti-violence advocates deplore. Depp might have come into this trial as the more powerful party, but that doesn’t mean we can gloss over clear evidence of violence against him. Doing so does not just undermine our cause, it also undermines our humanity.
Nicole Smith
Wellington, New Zealand
