Joanna Pepin is a University of Maryland researcher who examined public reactions to domestic abuse in 66 celebrity incidents from 2009 to 2012. She discovered that it was âvery commonâ for people to dismiss charges against well-known celebrities, both by downplaying the gravity of their crimes and by blaming the victims. âSo far, the debate [regarding Depp and Heard] has mirrored what I discovered throughout my research,â she said. âReports from Depp's former lovers and acquaintances that âhe's a lovely guyâ, âhe didn't abuse meâ, and âhe's a fantastic fatherâ; these are very common in the articles I coded. The second issue was the victim-blaming in the pieces against Heard â that she is a gold-digger who is somehow culpable for the violence.â
However, the restraining order would be vacated, as Heard recanted her charges against Depp only one day before a hearing on the case was scheduled. According to a statement acquired by The Hollywood Reporter, the couple's relationship was âintensely passionate and at times volatile,â but âalways bonded by love. On August 16, 2016, Depp and Heard reached a $7 million divorce settlement, which Heard contributed to the American Civil Liberties Union and Children's Hospital Los Angeles. In December 2018, the Washington Post published an Op-Ed by Amber Heard on domestic violence.
Johnny Depp and Amber Heard are at the top of the list of couples you didn't believe would continue until 2017.
Of course, the warring parties are not in imminent danger of reconciling. Rather than that, it's only that they're still formally married and approaching the eight-month anniversary of Heard's divorce filing.
A New York court has now partly approved a motion filed by Depp's legal team, compelling the ACLU to produce records confirming Heard's vow was kept.
According to Depp's lawyer, Benjamin Chew, the Pirates of the Caribbean actor was âmost gratifiedâ by the court's ruling.
