John v. Amber.

I paid zero, and I do mean zero attention to the Johnny Depp-Amber Heard trial. I don’t have cable, for one, and while I understand that the trial was live-streamed over the internet, I refused to engage. Depp is one of those celebrities who, if I saw them in an airport, I wouldn’t think of engaging with; I mean, I’ve seen him here and there in this and that, but I’m too old to think about him as a lust object, and I can’t think of a single question I might want him to answer.

As for his ex-wife, I wouldn’t even recognize her as famous. Pretty and blonde, because so many actresses are, but otherwise, a tabula rasa.

As such, I welcomed the chance to ignore, completely, a news event and not feel guilty about it.

I’m starting to gather this was a mistake.

I should have known when I started seeing #JusticeforJohnny trending among a few MAGA accounts I keep tabs on. I should have known when, late in the trial, the role of certain so-called Influencers began getting MSM coverage. I should have known when I finally did pay attention, and learned this was a defamation trial, based on an op-ed Heard wrote that didn’t even mention Depp. I should have known.

Then the verdict came in, and well, now I know. Anything TikTok plays a leading role in should be assumed moronic and toxic on its face. These damage awards are fucking insane, like the time a Columbus jury found one pornographer defamed another pornographer and awarded him $40 million.

It was later knocked down to $4 million, and Bob Guccione’s plans to use the settlement money to build an Atlantic City casino were stopped at the steel-girder stage. I’m sure someone else took over the project, which was notable also for the fact it was constructed around a single residential house, the proverbial stubborn homeowner who wouldn’t sell for any reason. Googling…and someone did take over the project. None other than Donald Trump. Speaking of pornography.

I hope Amber gets her award knocked down on appeal.

Sorry I’ve been scarce of late. No time, no ideas, rather stare at the horizon and wait for some Eastern religion-type enlightenment wash over me.

So here’s this, for Monday.

Posted at 1:56 pm in Current events, Popculch |
 

27 responses to “John v. Amber.”

  1. LAMary said on June 6, 2022 at 2:09 pm

    You better not be doing Yoga while waiting for those Eastern religion vibes. Summoning demons is not going to do you or anyone else any good.
    And I ignored the Depp/Heard thing too.

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  2. Sherri said on June 6, 2022 at 2:45 pm

    The attacks on Amber Heard were straight out of the Gamergate playbook. And someone managed to get a “the ACLU is losing its way” article published in the Atlantic over the connection between Amber Heard and the ACLU.

    I swear there are some people who are more comfortable with the ACLU defending Nazis than they are with the org doing anything else.

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  3. Dave said on June 6, 2022 at 2:47 pm

    Depp is one of those actors who has made a career out of being different, dressing differently, what some may consider odd but it has served him very well. One wonders, they are both actors, how much acting went into their court appearances?

    For many long years, I have wondered how many Hollywood marriages are from real attraction and how many are viewed as (hopeful) stepping stones to more fame and glory.

    No, I did not watch the trial but did see network news and all of the supporters outside of the Fairfax, VA, courthouse. What attracts these folks to stand outside a courthouse waiting for an appearance of one of the trial principals? I’ve personally no idea.

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  4. Sherri said on June 6, 2022 at 2:56 pm

    Rebecca Traister on DiFi: https://www.thecut.com/article/dianne-feinstein-abortion-gun-civil-rights.html

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  5. Joe Kobiela said on June 6, 2022 at 4:02 pm

    From what little bit I heard about the trial, Amber was the only one who gave a shit.
    Pilot Joe

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  6. Joe Kobiela said on June 6, 2022 at 4:06 pm

    What little I heard about the trial I guess Amber was the only one that gave a shit.
    Pilot Joe

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  7. Julie Robinson said on June 6, 2022 at 4:23 pm

    From the two articles I read, they both seem like very unpleasant people, but I do worry about the chilling effect this may have on reporting domestic violence. And that’s the last bit of time I’ll spend on them.

    Everyone saw little Prince Louis on the balcony during the flyover, but this morning I saw video of him sitting next to Kate at another event and putting his hand over her mouth as she was trying to get him to sit still. The next picture was of him sticking out his tongue. Mama to mama I felt her pain, since neither of mine was ever interested in sitting still and/or being quiet. He’s four; let him stay home and run around to his heart’s delight.

    Last week I had a biopsy and my doctor contacted me Sunday afternoon to let me know it was benign. I really appreciated her not letting me worry about it for even one additional day. Two friends have gotten cancer diagnoses in the last month so I don’t take it for granted.

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  8. LAMary said on June 6, 2022 at 4:28 pm

    https://nymag.com/intelligencer/2022/06/rick-caruso-king-of-the-grove-who-would-be-l-a-s-mayor.html

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  9. Bitter Scribe said on June 6, 2022 at 5:43 pm

    It’s too bad about Depp. I’d always kind of liked him, as a person as well as an actor. He’d always seemed pretty grounded to me, but it looks like years of fame (and drugs) didn’t do him any favors in that department.

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  10. Sherri said on June 6, 2022 at 6:40 pm

    Pilot Joe demonstrates how effective the Depp strategy was, if he thinks Heard was the only person who gave a shit. She was the one being sued by Depp, for defamation over an 11 word sentence that didn’t even name him.

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  11. Dave said on June 6, 2022 at 7:22 pm

    I think PJ was referring to what Depp accused her of doing during their marital difficulties, Sherri.

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  12. Joe Kobiela said on June 6, 2022 at 7:35 pm

    You would be correct Dave.
    Pilot Joe

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  13. Deborah said on June 6, 2022 at 10:30 pm

    Didn’t watch the Heard/Depp trial at all, don’t really care about it. Ive Listened to reports that it’s unfair to Heard for some reason but can’t even muster any enthusiasm to find out. I have no idea who is guilty or innocent. There are so many more problems now like the invasion of Ukraine or the end of Roe V. Wade, the loss of Democracy etc. I just don’t have the bandwidth to go there right now. Maybe in another time I would care, but now I do not.

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  14. Charlie Zone said on June 6, 2022 at 10:43 pm

    This is a good short read on why it is worth paying attention to this trial and verdict
    https://www.readthepresentage.com/p/johnny-depp-amber-heard?s=r
    Sorry I can’t seem to make a direct link work.

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  15. Dexter Friend said on June 7, 2022 at 3:01 am

    I had no interest in Depp-Heard either, but I heard the court statements in which Amber Heard’s lawyers proved very little as Depp was awarded one award after another. It was discussed, but it seems today Amber Heard owes Johnny Depp $10M, and of course, her spokeswoman says she has nothing with which to pay Mister Depp.
    Final comment on my attempt to buy the truck:
    The farmer’s mechanic said it has a blown engine , he returned it today, and when I called to check, the fuckin’ thing P.O.S. was already sold to the local auction.
    Hi-ho the derry-o
    The truck’s a piece of shit.

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  16. Dexter Friend said on June 7, 2022 at 3:24 am

    Carolina Panthers “Top Cats” got themselves a new member …and a place in history: https://www.yahoo.com/sports/justine-lindsay-makes-history-as-nfl-first-openly-transgender-cheerleader-carolina-panthers-221521967.html

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  17. alex said on June 7, 2022 at 7:45 am

    I paid it none, but the whole brouhaha encapsulates what I’ve always thought was wrong with American politics: To a vast swath of the American public, Hollywood twaddle is the only news that matters, and they vote accordingly, which is to say not at all. These folks couldn’t name their own congressman but they can tell you anything you want to know about Johnny Depp or Amber Heard. They’re even less informed than the fools feeding at the troughs at Fox. And when they do vote, it’s because because some B-lister like Donald Trump is part of their consciousness.

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  18. Jeff Borden said on June 7, 2022 at 9:17 am

    The vocal supporters of Johnny Depp reminded me of the morons who kept vigil outside the trial of Michael Jackson, sad sacks who simply wouldn’t accept their pop star idol was a kiddie diddler. Triumph the Insult Comic Dog took them apart in a hilarious video at the time. I honestly didn’t give a shit, but the Depp-Heard trial was impossible to avoid given that it frequently made the evening network news programs. Ugh.

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  19. Suzanne said on June 7, 2022 at 9:29 am

    I still have no clue who Amber Heard is. An actress, I assume, but until this trial, I had never heard her name. I don’t give a flying fig about either her or her ex.
    Alex, your assessment is correct that far too many of our fellow citizens know all about this kind of celebrity crap but don’t know how their own government works, their own National history, or who their representatives in government are. Sad.

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  20. Heather said on June 7, 2022 at 1:23 pm

    I didn’t pay any attention to the Depp/Heard trial either, but from what I have read and heard from domestic violence survivors, it’s a disastrous outcome–for them and for media outlets as well, which may possibly now be sued for defamation based on this precedent. The op-ed Heard wrote that set all this off didn’t even mention him by name.

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  21. ROGirl said on June 7, 2022 at 3:11 pm

    I don’t care about either one, but you couldn’t fucking escape it. Kind of like the twice impeached loser former president and the woman who decided he was someone she wanted to marry. Feh.

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  22. Julie Robinson said on June 7, 2022 at 3:43 pm

    Speaking of impeached former Presidents, is anyone else watching Gaslit? It’s Watergate told through the peripheral players, especially Martha Mitchell, played with crackling energy by Julia Roberts.

    As the credits rolled last night my mom saw a producing credit for Caroline James and wondered if it could be Carrie James from the next town over, who went out to LA to work on the production side of TV. We knew her from our community theater days, and she played Helen Keller to my Annie Sullivan all the way back in…gulp, 1974.

    So I did a little Facebook stalking and sure enough, Carrie-now-Caroline has done all right for herself. IMDB lists 26 shows she’s worked on, mostly with multiple episodes, such as 58 from NYPD Blue.

    Just today WaPo has a story about Martha giving Woodward and Bernstein free access to John’s office and papers. This was after they moved to NYC and he filed for divorce and left. His lawyer found out and demanded they return them. So they did, but not until they’d xeroxed the lot. No grass growing under their feet!

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  23. Icarus said on June 7, 2022 at 4:00 pm

    I don’t know if this link will work, but here’s a different perspective on the Depp V Heard drama.

    https://www.facebook.com/Jacalynwetzelwriter/posts/pfbid02oPEsT7i7Z51YWtDH3U1RcoVhbm5794Lr3dbhqB9ZuCTmbMrbyqP17AqFehkX9bHQl

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  24. Sherri said on June 7, 2022 at 5:10 pm

    Once you understand that Republicans are really about “you can’t tell me what to do, but I can tell you what to do”, everything makes much more sense. There is a coherent principle that they uphold, and they aren’t hypocritical about it. It’s how they can be anti-mask and pro-gun, anti-abortion and pro death penalty, and opposed to anything that helps anybody else.

    It’s why I said they liked Trump: he hated all the right people. Nothing else mattered. It’s their country and they want the rest of us to shut up and behave.

    https://twitter.com/_EthanGrey/status/1534024357957230594

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  25. Colleen said on June 7, 2022 at 7:55 pm

    Julie, I am enjoying Gaslit. Watergate is the first big news event I remember.

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  26. Deborah said on June 7, 2022 at 8:12 pm

    After my road trip to the pacific northwest through Salt Lake City, could Brigham Young have been more wrong? https://www.nytimes.com/2022/06/07/climate/salt-lake-city-climate-disaster.html

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  27. Julie Robinson said on June 7, 2022 at 8:23 pm

    Colleen, I was a senior in high school, and I remember my government teacher saying it was an off-year for elections so she wouldn’t have current events to tie into–ha!

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