In perhaps the biggest waste of speaker fees since hiring a white woman to talk about racism, you can now shell out $33,000 to hear Amber Heard, who admitted on tape to beating Johnny Depp, to talk to you about surviving domestic violence.
And no, she’s not talking about Depp surviving her domestic violence. She’s still claiming to be a victim, bolstered by Depp’s recent court loss in London. Depp had sued Heard and British Tabloid The Sun over depictions of him as a “wife beater.” As The Daily Wire previously reported, Depp faced an uphill battle, since he had to prove he didn’t hit Heard. Proving a negative is nearly impossible, and Depp was only able to prove he didn’t attack Heard in two of the situations she claimed, but that apparently wasn’t enough to cast doubt on the rest of her claims.
During the trial, evidence surfaced showing proof that Heard abused Depp. Depp’s attorneys presented audio of Heard admitting to hitting the “Pirates of Caribbean” actor.
“I’m sorry that I didn’t, uh, uh, hit you across the face in a proper slap, but I was hitting you, it was not punching you. Babe, you’re not punched,” Heard tells Depp in the recording. “I don’t know what the motion of my actual hand was, but you’re fine. I did not hurt you. I did not punch you. I was hitting you.”
The attorneys also provided evidence that Heard would stage alleged attacks, randomly yelling “Stop hitting me, Johnny” when witnesses saw no such abuse. A concierge at the couple’s penthouse also testified that surveillance footage showed Heard’s sister pretending to punch her.
“One of the testimonies comes from Trinity Esparza, who was the concierge at the penthouse where Heard claims Depp hit her in the face. Esparza now questions how Heard received the mark on her face she claimed was from Depp, after reviewing surveillance footage from three days later, when Heard’s sister Whitney pretended to punch her in the face, according to court documents,” The Daily Wire previously reported.
Further, evidence suggested Heard attacked Depp while the actor was in bed and staged the attacks she claimed he committed.
“Unaware that members of Mr. Depp’s security team (including an 18-year veteran of the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department) were mere feet away, Ms. Heard falsely began yelling, ‘Stop hitting me, Johnny,’” Depp alleged in court documents. “The interaction culminated with Ms. Heard making false allegations that Mr. Depp struck her with a cell phone, hit her and destroyed the penthouse. There were multiple eyewitnesses to this hoax.”
Typically, #MeToo cases use multiple accusers to bolster claims, yet none of Depp’s numerous ex-girlfriends alleged abuse. In fact, many of them came forward to discount Heard’s claims. Ex-fiancee Winona Ryder and ex-partner Vanessa Paradis (who partnered with Depp for 14 years and who is the mother of two of his children) both said the “Pirates of the Caribbean” star was never abusive toward them or anyone.
“I obviously was not there during his marriage to Amber, but, from my experience, which was so wildly different, I was absolutely shocked, confused and upset when I heard the accusations against him. The idea that he is an incredibly violent person is the farthest thing from the Johnny I knew and loved. I cannot wrap my head around these accusations,” Ryder wrote in court documents.
“I am aware of the allegations which Amber Heard has publicly accused Johnny of for more than 4 years now,” Paradis wrote. “This is nothing like the true Johnny I have known, and from my personal experience of many years, I can say he was never violent or abusive to me.”
Despite all this evidence and more, Depp lost his libel case and his role in the Harry Potter spinoff franchise “Fantastic Beasts,” while Heard has been hailed as a brave survivor. Evie Magazine reported that Heard is represented by The Harry Walker Agency, the same speakers bureau that represents white anti-racism author Robin DiAngelo. The outlet reported that Heard “has already spoken at events like the Global Citizen Festival, the Social Good Summit, the L’Oreal Women of Worth awards, and the Women’s March 2020.”
The outlet noted that Heard and Depp “are still involved in a legal case in the U.S., so the result of that case may impact other organizations’ interest in hiring her in the future.”
The evidence in this case didn’t matter. Depp is being treated like an abuser when it is clear he was the victim, and his abuser, who admitted to such on tape, is being treated like a hero because she’s a woman.
But hey, if you want to burn $33,000, have at it.
Correction: An earlier version of this article referred to French singer Vanessa Paradis as Johnny Depp’s ex-wife. They were never married.