If you’ve used the internet in the past month, you’ve undoubtedly seen coverage of the Amber Heard/Johnny Depp trial. Depp is suing ex-girlfriend Heard for defamation, seeking $50 million USD ($71.4 million AUD) in damages, following the publication of a 2018 essay in The Washington Post where she identified as a survivor of abuse.
It’s not the first lawsuit Depp has filed in an effort to defend his reputation. In 2018, he sued British tabloid The Sun for libel after it referred to him as a “wife beater”. In late 2020, a judge found The Sun’s article to be “substantially true”, finding that 12 of the 14 alleged incidents of domestic violence occurred. But if you look at the conversation online, it’s dominated by fans painting Depp as the victim of Heard’s manipulation and abuse. Why?
