Big sign that Johnny Depp has already won

The trial of Johnny Depp and Amber Heard continues. Since the lawsuit began, the internet has been bombarded with clips from the trial and the case has basically become water cooler talk. Everyone has an opinion and a side.

Heard’s ex-husband Johnny Depp is currently suing the actress for $50 million ($A70 million) over a 2018 Washington Post opinion piece in which she wrote about being a victim of domestic violence† She didn’t give a name depp in the piece, but he claims the charges are clearly directed against him.

While the online debate over Depp and Heard rages onI’m starting to feel more and more uncomfortable about how comfortable everyone is in giving Johnny Depp the benefit of the doubt.

If we are honest with ourselves, the world has a very long history of doing this, forgiving men for terrible behavior. Society likes to believe that men can and will do better even after they have made mistakes.

I mean, this year’s stand-up comedian Louie CK won a Grammy for his comedy album, though it was “cancelled” in 2017 over reports of sexually harassing emerging female comedians.

If that wasn’t proof enough that we forgive men, check out singer Chris Brown who physically assaulted his girlfriend Rihanna in 2009. After giving Rihanna a black eye, he has released several studio albums and achieved great success.

He even teamed up with Justin Bieber.

My point is that we forgive men and give them the space to keep rising.

So the fact that the entire internet seems to be on Depp’s side isn’t exactly surprising. That’s why you’ll see TikToks from Depp visiting children in hospital. You’ll see loving quotes from Depp’s former girlfriends, used almost as an alibi against Heard’s accusations, and you’ll keep hearing what a great guy Depp is.

There are TikToks dedicated to how handsome he looks in the courtroom and hashtag #JusticeForJohnnyDepp that has gone viral.

It doesn’t matter if he wrote text messages saying he wanted to “burn” Heard, or if there’s video footage of him having physical tantrums. It feels like everyone is willing to overlook that and just focus on the good they’ve done, which would all be well and good if the same kindness was bestowed on Heard.

You see, while Depp is given the benefit of the doubt, Heard is being bombed and harassed online. A petition is circulating to ban Heard Aquaman 2 and replaced by Blake Lively. You will also find that it is difficult to find anything nice or good about Heard on the internet.

Former co-stars remain suspiciously silent, no one talks about her charity work, and it’s almost as if, at least online, there isn’t a shred of evidence to prove she’s a fully fleshed out person.

I understand that it would be easy to conclude that the internet sided with Depp because he is right and Heard is wrong.

But enough evidence has been found from this trial to at least make us aware that Depp misbehaved, yet everyone is willing to forgive him. How can there be an online hashtag demanding justice for Depp when he joked about raping Heard?

You could argue that this case also has evidence that makes Heard look bad. There are recordings of her saying mean things to Depp, like calling him “old.” But why aren’t we so willing to give her the benefit of the doubt? Why did we decide that her worst behavior is who she is, but Depp’s worst behavior was an error of judgment?

If they’ve both done and said terrible things, why are we so willing to forgive Depp? And then, so started punishing Heard? I’d say it’s because we love to punish women and forgive men.

Mary Madigan is a freelance writer.