Many people have heard of the well known actors Amber Heard and Johnny Depp, on April 11 2022 they went to court over a $100 million lawsuit that Depp is pursuing. The trial is taking place in Fairfax, Virginia and it is open to the public. It is also being broadcasted live so if you can’t make it you can still tune in. This trial has been inspiring a lot of people to promote abuse in relationships for men and women. If you didn’t know anything about why they are in trial, here is some information. 

In 2015 Depp and Heard got married, and just a year later they split and got a divorce. While Heard filed for divorce she got a temporary lawsuit against Depp and claimed that Depp physically abused her while he was under the influence of drugs and alcohol. A $7 million dollar settlement was made after Heard testified in court in late 2016, and in early 2017 the divorce was finalized. 

In 2018 Heard officially came out saying publicly that she had gotten abused, but she never mentioned Depp’s name. People suspected it was Depp and this shocked and outraged  many people, especially Depp fans. During this time Depp lost many deals and contracts because he was labeled an abuser and a bad person by the press. In 2019, Depp sued Heard for $50 million for defamation claiming that he never abused Heard and if anything she was the abuser. Many people  did not believe Depp thought that he was just trying to clear his name with lies.

 In early 2020 shocking new evidence came, it was a phone recording to Heard admitting that she hit Depp. Fans were shocked, but many people switched from believing Heard to believing Depp. In late July there was a 3 week trial but Depp lost and he was denied the right to appeal twice. Finally Depp got approved for a retrial and now Heard and Depp are in court and this time the lawsuit is for $100 million dollars. 

Now that Depp is changing the narrative and coming out about the experience of the alleged abuse in his relationship this can cause a lot of good change in the world. Many people before overlooked men getting abused in relationships, and didn’t think of it as an important matter.  But now that Depp is sharing his alleged struggles, he can inspire the majority of men or even women who may feel scared, or feel that they are going to get judged about their experiences, or scared that people won’t believe them, even if Depp doesn’t win the trial.