Emily Olle: Johnny Depp won’t hear your support for him, but abuse victims will

The Depp v Heard trial was a sensation deafened by support for the multi-millionaire actor. The outcome is a devastating blow for abuse victims everywhere, writes Emily Olle.

It was a stunning finish to arguably the defamation trial of the century.

On Wednesday, Johnny Depp won his proceedings against former partner Amber Heard and was awarded US$10.4m (A$14.49m) in damages.

Heard was sued by Depp for $US50m ($A67m) over a Washington Post op-ed she wrote in 2018 which, although did not name Depp, implied he abused her.

Heard won one of her three defamation counterclaims against Depp and was awarded $2 million in damages.

The defamation trial, which began on April 11, saw both parties level explosive accusations against each other as they testified about their tumultuous relationship and became a media sensation.

Day-by-day, short videos and memes circulated largely purporting to disprove Heard’s testimony as the trial devolved into a sensationalised sporting match of he said, she said. Hashtags trended across Twitter as murky evidence was put before the court.

Prior to this trial unfolding, a UK judge ruled in favour of 12 out of 14 incidents of abuse reported by Heard at the hands of Depp.

The pro-Depp chorus was deafening throughout the trial as Heard was labelled a “liar” and social media consumers cherrypicked her “body language” and poked fun at her emotions.

These hyper-fixated, isolated assessments ignore the complexity of trauma responses, the impacts of abuse and, most importantly, the complexity of legal proceedings – in particular, defamation trials.

Amber Heard said she was left “heartbroken” by the result. Picture: Evelyn Hockstein

This is, by no accounts, a defence of Amber Heard’s character. She may well be a “bad person” or, as admitted, have failed to donate her divorce funds to charity. It’s about the response to her testimony.

But what the commentary around the case tells the millions who are the victims of domestic violence minute by minute across the globe is if you speak up, particularly against men in power, you risk losing everything.

In an emotional statement following the hearing, Heard said: “The disappointment I feel today is beyond words. I’m heartbroken that the mountain of evidence still was not enough to stand up to the disproportionate power, influence, and sway of my ex-husband.”

“I’m even more disappointed with what this verdict means for other women. It is a setback. It sets back the clock to a time when a woman who spoke up and spoke out could be publicly shamed and humiliated.”

The support for Depp feels a far cry from the #MeToo movement which, at the time, stripped back the glamorous walls in a revolt against the male-dominated industry with abuse at its heart.

Johnny Depp leaves court during the trial in Virginia. Picture: Drew Angerer

Women such as Grace Tame have fought bravely and intensely to unsheathe the dark underbelly of alleged abuse and cover-ups in our own parliament.

But as time passes, piece by piece, accused abusers have reclaimed their power as the furious pace of the movement slows.

The most recent Australian Bureau of Statistics numbers suggest that one in six Australian women have experienced physical or sexual violence at the hands of a partner – a staggering 1.6 million in total - and one in 16 men.

By the numbers, this means that most, if not all, of the Depp supporters celebrating his win on social media would know of someone who has been the victim of domestic abuse.

A significant number of those, it is likely, suffered that abuse at the hands of someone more powerful than them.

So when you sing your praises for Depp’s outcome, remember.

He won’t hear you. But victims of abuse will.