The effect of the Depp-Heard verdict on abuse victims

Brut America

"I think this is going to set back the MeToo movement quite a bit."  After Johnny Depp won the defamation case against Amber Heard, victims of domestic violence are concerned about what this could mean for them. Here's why ...

Transcript

00:00Ms. Hurd lied, and she lied again, and she kept lying.

00:04Stand up for victims of domestic abuse everywhere who suffer in silence.

00:10Give Amber Hurd her voice back.

00:13This trial and the verdict that came out is going to have a pretty big impact

00:19on survivors and their ability and desire to speak out.

00:30I think this is going to set back the MeToo movement quite a bit.

00:50One of the most powerful, if not the most powerful tools for

00:54survivors of domestic violence is the ability to speak out about the abuse that they're

01:00suffering.

01:01If that's silenced, they're stuck and they are going to be surviving

01:06on their own in silence for who knows how long.

01:20I've been in an ongoing conversation with one particular client.

01:23We are barreling towards trial where she's facing defamation claims for speaking out.

01:30We had been keeping an eye on the Amber Hurd and Johnny Depp trial, and it has been very

01:36triggering.

01:37The verdict, of course, was pretty devastating for her to learn about and certainly has shaken

01:44her confidence, as I think it's shaken a lot of our confidence in this legal system.

01:53So

02:12well, this seems to have been a rough week for Amber Hurd.

02:15And can I say good?

02:17And that's what's been the most sad about seeing these TikTok videos and the social media,

02:22these memes and Saturday Night Live.

02:24It's like they're making fun of essentially, you know, and belittling by making fun of

02:30domestic violence survivors.

02:32Mr. Depp, earlier in this trial, you mentioned that Ms. Hurd left fecal matter in your bed.

02:40That is correct, yes.

02:43I would tell people to think about the fact that there's a statistic that

02:48it's shown only about 5% of those who speak out about domestic violence are shown to have

02:54been untruthful about that.

02:56So victims are usually telling the truth.

02:59And you have to think about why would someone speak out?

03:02It's an enormously difficult thing to speak out and to go public, to seek help, because

03:09you can face quite a number of punitive measures as a result.

03:13This is not something that people choose to do easily or for other reasons.

03:29I was really upset because I've been personally touched by domestic violence.

03:33I've seen it happen firsthand.

03:35If people truly care about those that have been survivors of domestic violence,

03:40they shouldn't adopt this attitude of like a mob mentality here at the courthouse.

03:45If you support someone, that's great.

03:48You're entitled to your own opinions.

03:49But man, just think about the damage that you're doing online,

03:52to this whole Me Too movement, to how people treat domestic violence.

03:58It took so long just for people to stand up to Harvey Weinstein.

04:10Today's verdict confirms what we have said from the beginning,

04:20that the claims against Johnny Depp are defamatory and unsupported by any evidence.

04:26I do think this is a backlash and a pretty intense one.

04:31And this trial was part of that and perhaps will come out to be as one of the most

04:37obvious examples of that backlash.

04:39At the same time, there are laws being passed to protect

04:43victims of sexual harassment and sexual assault, stronger laws around the country.

04:48So that's important.

04:49There are anti-SLAPP laws around the country that exist, that are being strengthened,

04:54that protect those who speak out against their abusers if they're being sued for defamation.

05:02So there are strides being made, but socially and emotionally and psychologically,

05:10I think this trial and the verdict that came out is going to have a pretty big impact on survivors.

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