For years now, the high-profile marital split between movie stars Johnny Depp and Amber Heard has had all the makings of the Hollywood “he said, she said” blockbuster of the century. But there will be no Oscars or Golden Globes in it for them, and no fairytale happy ending for the public either. 

The Depp Vs Heard case was one of the most watched since the Jodi Arias murder case in Arizona.

As the former A-list power couple dukes it out in court in Virginia, each seeking tens of millions of dollars in damages in one of the most-watched defamation trials in recent history, an unfortunate modern reality is unfolding before our very eyes. 

That reality can be summed up like this: courts of law are ill-equipped to handle cases of alleged abuse that happen behind closed doors, pushing victims seeking justice into the unwieldy and often unfair court of public opinion. And while publicity is said to be the “soul of justice,” cases involving celebrities too often become episodic, soulless public spectacles where true justice takes a backseat to melodrama and speculation.   

Being a victim of domestic abuse

In Heard’s case, she wrote a now infamous op-ed for the Washington Post about being a victim of domestic abuse. In it, she never named her former husband, but that didn’t matter to his lawyers. They’ve since accused Heard of giving the “performance of her life” and making up the abuse allegations in some elaborate hoax of a publicity stunt. 

If the couple’s therapist is to be believed, though, both parties engaged in “mutual abuse.” It is at this nexus point where it becomes easy to sympathize with both of them without having to take sides and pass judgment on who is at fault and who is truly a victim.

That’s because they may be both victims and both perpetrators, each under extreme pressures exerted by our celebrity-obsessed popular culture and 24-hour news cycle. 

Rights of abused women

With that in mind, it’s arguable that both Heard and Depp have approached their legal battle believing their ultimate goals are righteous and noble. For Heard, using her celebrity and the Washington Post as a wide-reaching forum to advocate for the rights of abused women is undoubtedly virtuous and praiseworthy.

Who in their right mind would advocate against them, anyway? She defended her piece in the Post as being “about the price women pay for speaking against men in power.”   

But for Depp, his goal is as much personal as it is professional. With allegations of abuse hanging over him, he’s claimed he went from Cinderella to Quasimodo in an instant after the allegations “permeated” the film industry.

Before suing his ex-wife for defamation, Depp also unsuccessfully sued the Sun, the British tabloid for calling him a “wife beater.” A man of his profile and wealth has the resources to launch such costly legal actions against deep-pocketed defendants like the Sun and Heard.

For him though, being labelled an abuser of women, which he vehemently denies, comes at a cost to his career and reputation that can’t be recovered even if he’s successful in court in Virginia once the trial wraps up.

For instance, do you think a Disney executive charged with casting the next big franchise would go with Depp and risk scandal and criticism, or go with someone else to simply avoid potential controversy? 

Depp Vs Heard

Again, this is the paradox of justice at the heart of a defamation case like Depp’s against Heard. Since it’s a civil case and not criminal, Depp doesn’t have to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that his reputation’s been damaged by false information published under his ex-wife’s name.

For her part, Heard can also claim that the lawsuit is an improper attempt to silence valid criticism under so-called anti-SLAPP laws that prevent “strategic lawsuits against public participation.” Even if what she wrote in the Post is ruled defamatory, a court could still find it to be protected speech on a matter of public interest. 

In other words, no matter how the court in Virginia rules, there will likely be little closure and looming uncertainty over where the truth lies, leaving it up to the court of public opinion to judge as it sees fit. Which it simply isn’t fit to do.

Update: It’s been many months since the Depp Vs Heard judgment came out, with Depp winning. People are still talking about it. It might go down as the legal case of the decade.

Author: Alistair Vigier is the CEO of ClearwayLaw.com, a lawyer directory that connects the public with lawyers. People can also leave reviews for lawyers on the website.