He is poised. He knows what he wants to convey. His message is clear. His voice does not break. His face stays smooth and precise as he speaks plainly and clearly. He takes his time because he might not get this chance again. He understands he might not get this opportunity again. He has a captive audience. So he wants to make sure he is heard; at times, it’s clear that he is pained. It is apparent that he is struggling to find the words, but he keeps his composure. The thoughts are all very organized in his head. He recalls painful and disturbing memories. He is talking about the time when his mother emotionally, verbally, and physically abused him and his siblings. He is talking about the time when his father abandoned him. Throughout all of it, he stays resolute. This time the story will be told, and one can almost feel that resolution coursing through his whole body. There is a determination in him. You can’t miss it.
He goes into detail about how his wife ruined his life. She tore him to pieces. She brought him to a point where he was willing to let her end him. He goes into gut-wrenching detail without shedding a tear. Sometimes, however, we see him hang his head and hide his face. Very few times do we see him disappear within himself. Only then would we know this is too much for him. You see, men are strong and polished. They can keep their emotions in check. That’s class. That’s a man. That is what we are thinking, aren’t we? We would accept him even if he cried or was a broken shell of a man. However, we like this version better; this confident, in control going over every detail in excruciating detail without shedding a single tear kind of man.
And he’s funny. While attempting to prove that his wife abused him, he makes endearing jokes that make people love him more. Most people see a funny, sweet man who was wrongly accused of something he didn’t do. I think we are watching a genius at play; I’m in awe of him. Well played, Johnny; you have proved what I’ve always known to be true. This is not about taking sides or believing one party over the other. There is a point to this, I assure you.
She talks about how she couldn’t wait to get out of her parents’ home because of how things were for her. She doesn’t have to tell us anything. Her face, you see. It should give it all away. Her jaw tightens. Her eyebrows crumple. We know her house was not a pleasant home for us. We could turn off the volume and watch her face, and we would know she is in distress. She is not happy. She is jittery and uncomfortable. Why wouldn’t she be? She is recalling a difficult time in her life.
She goes on to talk about the torture her husband put her through. All of that physical, sexual and emotional abuse is just beyond imaginable. We can sense her discomfort. We are watching her relive the pain, the agony. She imagines the blood, the mess, the pain. The shattered glass everywhere. It’s written all over her face. At least it’s supposed to be. It’s supposed to be etched in her body, eyes, and every word. We should hear it in her broken words. In her tearless eyes because she is all cried out. We should feel it in her emotionless face because she has nothing left to give us.
Her words are broken. She doesn’t want to recall what she’s been asked to. The fractured thoughts, and the blocked painful memories, are too much to be remembered like a flawless story. How do you, after all this, string along perfect sentences when all you have are splintered moments that you lived half-awake inside your head, especially when asked to in front of strangers and the man who put you through it all?
The problem with this very high-profile case is that her every move, every flinch of the eye or the nose, and every shake of the head is being scrutinized. Rightly so or not is irrelevant for this article. What are we seeing now? We are seeing nothing. Are we watching a woman broken, nothing left to give, nothing left to tell because it’s all been said and done to her? Or are we watching a liar and a terrible actor who is trying to accuse an innocent man?
Im not concerned with two people’s truths because that’s their personal business. This became our business when she became a target for every person, mostly men to judge and accuse which set women back decades if not centuries. When one is put in a position to defend one’s self against someone who has been hurting them in such a way it is difficult to prove all the pain and all the agony. It is difficult to prove every single truth that you have experienced because you experienced it alone. Her innocence or guilt doesn’t matter, however, the next woman who goes on the stand an acts just like her, her innocence will matter. Her words will be broken. She will shake her head in confusion and un-surety just like Heard and we will call back to this day and say remember when Amber Heard acted this way.
There will be a woman who will be all out of tears because she will be cried out. We will call back and say, remember when Amber Heard tried to shed crocodile tears? New information will come to light because a woman was afraid to speak it before and they will be called liars because she might be lying right now. On top of that Heard was questioned by a woman. At the heart of it, a woman had to prove another woman’s guilt, did no one see the irony in that? Did anyone else find it extremely damaging to the cause of sisterhood and solidarity? Was it just me who felt like we are selling ourselves out by revering this extremely intelligent woman for bringing one of our own to her knees? Sure its her job, sure it had to be done but the way we are celebrating all of it is just not what we, as humans and as women should be doing. It sickens me to my soul.
Standing up against Amber Heard is standing up for the rights of women to speak their truth without the fear of being called a liar or whatever else she’s being called right now. I don’t think Depp is innocent of everything but I do believe Heard is guilty of much more than domestic abuse. She has tried to hitch a ride on the backs of all those broken and hurt women who will now suffer and be denied because of her.
I am happy she has been exposed but my heart is hurting for the way she is the only one who is being judged and hated upon and Johnny Depp is not being questioned for any of his bad behavior by the public. Not that I condone anyone being judged by random people on the internet (unless they are me of course). The difference is extremely noticeable and disturbing.
And I say all this as an absolute Johnny Depp fan since I was a teeny tiny teen. I am also a woman who believes in women and this is absolutely not about who is on the right side of this particular case, its about where we take our humanity and how far we go with our judgements of individuals after this is over.
To Whom It May Concern 