Justice is Heard

Scott Hardie | February 15, 2022
Not since "Epstein didn't kill himself" have I been so sick and tired of hearing nonsense repeated about a famous person as I am about Johnny Depp and Amber Heard. If you're unfamiliar, here's the short version: They got divorced, they each claimed abuse by the other, a judge ruled that her claims of abuse were proven, he was fired from high-profile projects because of the spousal abuse, she continues working, fans consider this unjust, and fans retroactively decided that he's innocent and she's evil. I don't think a day passes that I don't encounter some kind of "justice for Johnny Depp!" or "fire Amber Heard!" meme online, and it's bullshit. They both abused each other. There's ample proof of that.

What worries me isn't what happens to a couple of famous people who already have plenty of money and problems. What worries me is the extremely obvious and hypocritical sexism in this movement, and the inability or willingness to recognize it by the fans involved. There is nowhere near this much outcry in the same fan circles online when a husband abuses a wife -- I'm speaking of nerdy fanboy circles, not athletic fans who have dealt with the likes of Ray Rice or music fans who have dealt with the likes of Chris Brown -- and the vast difference in outcomes that they demand for two celebrities who behaved similarly badly speaks volumes about their true values and allegiances. I thought the #MeToo movement opened up a lot of people's eyes to the double standards in society and the deference that men enjoy automatically, but apparently not as much progress has been made as I thought.

Am I wrong?

Samir Mehta | February 15, 2022
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