Monica Lewinsky Calls Johnny Depp and Amber Heard Trial “Court Porn”

Monica Lewinsky, an American activist, author and television personality, made it clear that she was unhappy with the direction that the Johnny Depp and Amber Heard trial has taken. The former White House intern, who was involved in a controversy with the former president of the United States Bill Clintonstated in an opinion piece for Vanity Fair magazine that the “show would be sad enough if it only impacted the personal lives of Depp, Heard and their loved ones.”

“It would be sad enough even if we just considered how this has affected survivors of domestic violence or those who have sought strength in the #MeToo movement. However, it is the implications for our culture that concern me the most: the ways we fan the flames of misogyny and, separately, the celebrity circus.“, added Lewinsky in the article, published this Tuesday (1).

She went on to say that the ease of attending the trial, through streamingmakes many “unconsciously think that we have the right to look and watch. To judge. to comment. (…) And we ended up with this confusing cultural crossover of watching two people (who we are used to seeing as actors acting on a screen) in a setting – a courtroom – where we would normally expect them to take on the roles of their characters.“

Lewinsky continued, referring to the seemingly addictive nature of the trial as “court porn” and drawing parallels with the dystopian science fiction novel “Brave New World”.

She also reminisced about her own controversy in the past joking – “Google: 1998” – and reflected that she “I wasn’t surprised that the memes” that she saw about heard “far surpass those on” depp.”I was not surprised that the cruel and caustic speech was predominantly aimed at women.“, he added. “And I shouldn’t have been surprised (but I was) that shortly after my search, I started getting suggestions for posts about the trial.“

“But they were less about depp and heard; more seemed to idolize Camille Vasquez (attorney of depp) for his ‘performance’ interrogating heard. (Oh, you thought we wouldn’t have any girl-on-girl feuds in this trial? That’s on Misogyny’s greatest hits album“, mocked Lewinsky.

She also discussed the concept of entitlement when it comes to opinions about testimony at trial and how cruelty comes into play in the general treatment of those involved, drawing comparisons to her own situation.

“In the end, the ways we contemptuously co-opt judgment for our own purposes is a sign of how many of us social media mongrels continue to devalue our dignity and humanity. (Excuse me if I got on my horse for a paragraph or two. Having been the target of this kind of cruelty, I can say that the scars never go away.)“

Lewinsky ended his article opining that “we are drenched in the dirt and aggression of social media wars. The obsessive talk surrounding the Depp-Heard trial is just one small example of the pursuit of happiness and excitement over the misfortune of others.“, adding: “No matter who the jury verdict favors – be the defendant heard or the plaintiff depp – we are guilty“.

THE VERDICT

After seven weeks of depositions and nearly four-day deliberations, the jury, made up of seven people, whose identity must be preserved for a year, announced this Tuesday (1st) the verdict in the case involving the actors and ex-couple. Johnny Depp and Amber Heard.

The “Pirates of the Caribbean” star was seeking $50 million in damages over an article by Amber Heard on domestic violence published in the “Washington Post” in 2018, claiming that he had been defamed by his ex-wife. By winning the process, depp will receive US$ 15 million from heard.

The actress of “Aquaman” was asking twice as much (US$ 100 million) for statements made by a former lawyer in depp calling his account a “farce”. Each of the actors claimed to have been abused during the time they were together.

Johnny Depp was not present in court and watched the decision by video from England, where he is meeting to perform with Jeff Beck. Amber Heard witnessed the decision in court.

The defamation trial was broadcast live on the internet between April 11 and the last day 27, which generated great repercussion for the troubled relationship experienced by the two while they were a couple. On social media, the hashtags “#JusticeForJohnnyDepp” and “#JusticeForAmberHeard” were among the most talked about topics throughout the period.

UNDERSTAND THE CASE

Johnny Depp58 years old, and Amber Heard, 36 years old, started dating in 2011 after working together in the feature “Diary of a Drunk Journalist”. They got married in 2015 and two years later completed their divorce.

Over the course of seven weeks, the jury heard a series of depositions, recordings of the ex-couple’s fights. In one case, Depp claimed he had his fingertip cut off after being hit by a bottle of vodka thrown by his then-wife.

heard denied the allegation, stating that depp sexually assaulted her that night with a bottle of liquor, which she wasn’t sure was broken or not. In another case, the actress admitted that she assaulted her ex-husband out of fear of what he might do to her sister.

On several occasions, depp denied having hit heard or any woman and said that she was the one who became violent in their relationship. He said the allegations of heard cost you”allThe actor lost his role as Captain Jack Sparrow in a new “Pirates of the Caribbean” movie – although he said he would never play the character again – and was replaced in the “Fantastic Beasts” film franchise. spin off of “Harry Potter”, by the actor Mads Mikkelsen.

Less than two years ago, depp lost a defamation case against the British newspaper “The Sun”, which labeled him “wife beater“. A London High Court judge ruled that he had assaulted heard repeatedly. The lawyers of depp filed the case in the state of Virginia this time, as it is the printing location of the “Washington Post”, although the paper is not a defendant.