Is the Johnny Depp divorce trial actually newsworthy?
The divorce trial wasn’t all that newsworthy or memorable (celebrities divorcing is expected), it’s his defamation trial against his ex-wife that is newsworthy. Why?
Although his defamation case is not as relevant to the country as news that affects us all more directly (like economic news), it is highly relevant in the field of divorce and family law because it has brought nationwide attention to a problem we lawyers have known about forever but that others haven’t: the shabby treatment of men in domestic relations law.
As recently as one generation ago, the thought of a man being a domestic violence victim was almost unthinkable. That’s not hyperbole. It was literally almost unthinkable. I’m not suggesting that women didn’t have their own legal prejudices to overcome (they clearly did then and to a lesser extent today, they still do), but it was an open secret that, with rare exception, the law ignored male domestic violence victims.
On second thought, “ignore” is not the most accurate term because that would imply that the law didn’t pay any attention to male domestic violence victims, and that’s not true. It did pay some attention to them, but in the form of arresting, charging, and prosecuting them if they had the guts to speak up.
What makes Johnny Depp’s defamation action against Amber Heard newsworthy today is because it focused the media’s attention (and thus focused the country’s attention) on a serious problem that needs and deserves to be solved now, not solved eventually. Johnny Depp’s defamation action against Amber Heard reveals:
– how brazenly a woman can repeatedly commit and get away with physically and emotionally abusing her spouse or boyfriend;
– how brazenly a woman can repeatedly commit and get away with physically and emotionally abusing her spouse or boyfriend, while claiming—and by claiming—to be the victim herself; and
– the depth and breadth of institutionalized sexual discrimination that pervades domestic violence laws and their enforcement.
– that it was (and largely still is) that combination of:
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- 1) believing that men generally/realistically can’t be victims of domestic violence at the hands of women; and
- 2) blaming and prosecuting the man when a man complains of domestic violence that leads so many male domestic violence victims to keep silent (under such circumstances, who can blame them?)
In fact, while men commit more acts of domestic violence that are more severe than those of women, women commit ever so slightly more “intimate partner” (i.e., domestic) physical violence than do men (30.6% women victims, 31% men victims, according to the CDC).
Johnny Depp’s defamation suit against his ex-wife is helping to dispel the myths:
- that women don’t commit domestic violence against men;
- that there are male domestic violence victims (some people really do find that idea surprising); and
- that presuming a woman who claims to be a domestic violence victim must be a victim (i.e., “believe all women”) is ridiculous. “Start by believing” is equally ridiculous. Start by investigating. Presume nothing.
Utah Family Law, LC | divorceutah.com | 801-466-9277
https://www.quora.com/Is-the-Johnny-Depp-divorce-trial-actually-newsworthy/answer/Eric-Johnson-311
Tags: abuse, Amber Heard, defamation, Divorce Court, emotional abuse, family court, Johnny Depp, law suit, lies, physical abuse, prejudice