On the 20th of May, the pirate Jack Sparrow made a short appearance in Virginia, United States. It was not an imitator, but the very Johnny Depp who, for a brief moment, brought back the character’s voice and hung from the car window to speak to fans waiting for him outside the courthouse in.
With jury trials and social media in action, the public battle between Depp and Amber Heard intensifies discussions in real time on the internet, between fans and critics of the actors. Both actors lost jobs and had their contracts suspended. According to the entertainment lawyer Priscilla Menezes in the eyes of the general public, the principle of presumption of innocence is undermined in high-profile cases and in a completely online era.
“The public sentence ends up coming out before the jury sentence”, he says, “with an eye on this, major producers and the film industry end up responding to people’s clamor”.
And this situation dates back to 2018, when Amber wrote in an article for the newspaper “The Washington Post” that she was a victim of domestic violence. The actress did not mention the name of Johnny Depp, but the way the text was constructed, everything indicated that the actor was the abuser – at the trial, Depp denied having hit Amber or any woman and said that she was the one who became violent in your relationship.
Even without naming the actor, the consequences of Amber’s article were quick. Depp was asked to withdraw from the “Harry Potter: Fantastic Beasts” franchise and would not return to play Jack Sparrow in the sequels to the “Pirates of the Caribbean” films.
Depp sued his ex-wife for $50 million and argued that she defamed him when she called herself “a public figure representing domestic abuse” in the newspaper article.
For her part, Amber sued for $100 million, saying Depp defamed her reputation when her lawyer called her accusations a “hoax”.
Depp’s defense alleges he lost more than $20 million in work; Amber’s defense says the actress lost more than $40 million because the trial froze her career.
Among numbers and accusations, whoever has the most significant millions wins: those of followers.
For Pedro Curi coordinator of ESPM’s film course, Amber is at a clear disadvantage in this regard.
“It’s an asymmetrical relationship,” he says. “Depp has a fan base that Amber doesn’t, which gives him a greater advantage in the content that is shared on social media.”
Appealing to his charisma, the actor is very good at keeping his supporters, performing his characters for those waiting outside the courtroom or thanking everyone who supports him. Depp’s performances in the movies are remembered as Amber is accused of playing the poor girl before the jury in court.
“While they say she acts in court, they say her chemistry with Jason Momoa in ‘Aquaman’ is questionable,” says Pedro.
Reproducing what happened to Depp in 2018, fans of the actor created a petition for Amber to be removed from the DC film, so far, the document has more than 4 million signatures.
What about #MeToo?
The movement started by several actresses in 2017, with the aim of denouncing aggression and sexual harassment within the audiovisual, may take a new turn if Amber Heard is cleared of the accusations of violence against Johnny Depp – the actor said, for example, that Amber played a bottle of vodka that cut the top of her finger during an argument in 2015.
For Priscilla Menezes, “the encouragement to talk about the subject [assédio] came at the time of the internet, when everything is visceral and fast, including the judgment of others”.
For Pedro Curi, however, the trial is about something more intimate than the #MeToo movement.
“It’s more of a domestic affair than something rooted in the industry,” he says, “but you have to pay attention to how she’s going to react if Johnny Depp is exonerated.”
The expert recalls Lars Von Trier and Woody Allen , filmmakers acclaimed even after their aggressive behavior was exposed. Violence is confused with eccentricity. It is excusable for such directors to act like this because they are geniuses in their metiers and this same argument is used for Johnny Depp, defends Pedro.
Finally, he recalls the case of Winona Ryder , former partner of Johnny Depp and defender of the actor in that trial. In 2001, she was caught robbing a clothing store in Los Angeles in a bout of kleptomania. The actress served two years on probation and, after that case, her career went on a long hiatus, only being revived by the series. “Stranger Things” from 2016.
“The system still subjugates women and forgives men,” says Pedro. “The film industry follows this path and ends up destroying the careers of many women.”
Remember the main moments that have taken place in court since April 11:
Source: CNN Brasil
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