Depp v. Heard

09/25/23 • 68 min

Has the sun set on the Me Too era? If you were following along with the Depp v. Heard defamation trial last April, it seems like it did. When Johnny Depp took Amber Heard to court for three vague quotes suggesting she had been abused by him, the world was in a frenzy. Has this hot, blonde, bisexual woman really been abused... or was it the easier answer? That she was an evil psychopath who pulled a Gone Girl on everyone’s favourite fictional pirate. In this episode, Hannah and Maia are finally ready to talk about this blight on cultural history. Discussions include: the popcorn consumption of televised celebrity court cases, TikTok’s true crime cottage industry, Johnny Depp’s hideous hats, and the societal Basic Instinct-ification of hot women. Will Amber Heard be redeemed as a maligned women when the fog clears in a few years, or did Depp v. Heard reverse Me Too for good?

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https://www.patreon.com/rehashpodcast

Intro and outro song by our talent friend Ian Mills:

⁠https://linktr.ee/ianmillsmusic

SOURCES

Amber Heard, “I spoke up against sexual violence - and faced our culture’s wrath. That has to change.” (18/12/18), The Washington Post

Simmone Shah, “What to Know About Johnny Depp and Amber Heard’s Defamation Trial” (05/05/22), Time,

Rajeev Syal, “Why did the Depp-Heard libel outcomes differ in the US and UK?” (02/06/22), The Guardian

Anya Zoledziowski “Did Social MEdia Sway the Johnny Depp Jury?” (03/06/22), Vice,

Nathan Buck, “The use of juries in defamation proceedings in America and Australia” (27/10/22), Kennedys Law

Constance Grady, “Johnny Depp, Amber Heard, and their $50 million defamation suit, explained” (03/11/22) Vox

Anya Zolediowski, “Why Does It Seem Like the Entire Internet is Team Johnny Depp?” (25/04/22)

Antoinette Bueno “Amber Heard Alleges Johnny Depp Abused Her Throughout Relationship: ‘I Live in Fear That Johnny Will Return”, ET Online (27/05/16)

Gene Maddaus, “Why Was Depp-Heard Trial Televised? Critics Call It ‘Single Worst Decision’ for Sexual Violence Victims”, (2022), Variety.

“Jury Sequestration”, US Legal.

Lillian Gissen “ Amber Heard is accused of COPYING Johnny Depp's courtroom outfits in a sartorial 'mind game' as spectators spot multiple similarities between their ensembles - and even their hairstyles - amid $100M defamation trial”, (2022), The Daily Mail

Alex Peters, “Milani Cosmetics faces backlash after wading into Depp V Heard trial”, (2022), Dazed,

Alice McCool, Manasa Narayanan “The Daily Wire Spent Thousands of Dollars Promoting Anti-Amber Heard Propaganda” (2022), Vice

Support the Patreon and get juicy bonus content!:

https://www.patreon.com/rehashpodcast

Intro and outro song by our talent friend Ian Mills:

⁠https://linktr.ee/ianmillsmusic

SOURCES

Amber Heard, “I spoke up against sexual violence - and faced our culture’s wrath. That has to change.” (18/12/18), The Washington Post

Simmone Shah, “What to Know About Johnny Depp and Amber Heard’s Defamation Trial” (05/05/22), Time,

Rajeev Syal, “Why did the Depp-Heard libel outcomes differ in the US and UK?” (02/06/22), The Guardian

Anya Zoledziowski “Did Social MEdia Sway the Johnny Depp Jury?” (03/06/22), Vice,

Nathan Buck, “The use of juries in defamation proceedings in America and Australia” (27/10/22), Kennedys Law

Constance Grady, “Johnny Depp, Amber Heard, and their $50 million defamation suit, explained” (03/11/22) Vox

Anya Zolediowski, “Why Does It Seem Like the Entire Internet is Team Johnny Depp?” (25/04/22)

Antoinette Bueno “Amber Heard Alleges Johnny Depp Abused Her Throughout Relationship: ‘I Live in Fear That Johnny Will Return”, ET Online (27/05/16)

Gene Maddaus, “Why Was Depp-Heard Trial Televised? Critics Call It ‘Single Worst Decision’ for Sexual Violence Victims”, (2022), Variety.

“Jury Sequestration”, US Legal.

Alex Peters, “Milani Cosmetics faces backlash after wading into Depp V Heard trial”, (2022), Dazed,

Alice McCool, Manasa Narayanan “The Daily Wire Spent Thousands of Dollars Promoting Anti-Amber Heard Propaganda” (2022), Vice

Previous Episode

Cuties

Remember when everyone freaked the f*** out about that French movie on Netflix? No? Well everybody, let us introduce you to: Cuties. In this episode, Hannah and Maia discuss Maïmouna Doucouré’s quaint 2020 coming-of-age film and the all out moral panic that it spawned on the internet - which culminated in a real life obscenity lawsuit against Netflix. Discussions include: the thin line between depiction and endorsement, America’s many moral triggers and paradoxical attitude towards sex, the weaponizing of children as a political tool, the cultural consequences of Jeffrey Epstein, and Netflix... actually... defending... art?

Support the Patreon and get juicy bonus content!:

https://www.patreon.com/rehashpodcast

Intro and outro song by our talent friend Ian Mills:

⁠https://linktr.ee/ianmillsmusic

Sources:

Caira Conner, “Watching the Outrage Over Cuties as a Survivor of P*dophilia” The Atlantic (2020).

Maria Cramer, “Netflix Is Charged in Texas With Promoting Lewdness in ‘Cuties’” The New York Times (2020).

Erich Goode and Nachman Ben-Yehuda, Moral Panics: Culture, Politics, and Social Construction” Annual Review of Sociology, Vol. 20 (1994).

Zack Sharf, “‘Cuties’ Director Speaks Out Amid Backlash Film Sexualizes Children, Netflix Stands by It” Indie Wire (2020).

Alissa Wilkinson and Aja Romano, How Cuties, a French movie on Netflix, became part of America’s culture war” Vox (2020).

Next Episode

Bye Sister

Cover this podcast in prayers, because in this highly-requested episode, Hannah and Maia discuss the most political event on the internet to date: Tati Westbrook’s public disowning of James Charles. In this clashing of beauty guru titans, 38-year-old Tati Westbrook disavowed her 19-year old friend and mentee, James Charles... over a bunch of hair vitamins. But hindsight reveals that Tati may not have been working alone, and that Bye Sister may never have been about vitamins all along. Tea and squabbles abound, this event may have brought an end to the beauty guru regime... for good! Digressions include: a reopening of the case on “grooming”, Hannah and Maia’s “would you, an alt man, date Kylie Jenner” poll, the horror of naming a fanbase, and Rehash’s declaration of war against another... very famous... podcast.

Support the Patreon and get juicy bonus content!:

https://www.patreon.com/rehashpodcast

Intro and outro song by our talent friend Ian Mills:

⁠https://linktr.ee/ianmillsmusic

SOURCES:

Valeriya Safronova, “James Charles, From ‘CoverBoy’ to Canceled” The New York Times (2019).

Jean Kelso Sandlin and Monica L. Gracyalny, “Fandom, forgiveness and future support: YouTube apologies as crisis communication” Journal of Communication Management Vol. 24 (1) (2020).

Rachel Strugatz, "The Morphe Beauty Saga Isn’t Pretty” The New York Times (2022).

Elizabeth Whitehead, “An Awkward Look at the Excessive Makeup Trend of the 2010s” Punkee (2022).