Amber Heard went through so much abuse and trauma during her marriage to Johnny Depp. We read about it in her divorce decree, we saw the photos and we witness Depp’s classic abuser response, which was to blame, play the victim and continue to smear her. She dealt with a lot, and it’s not surprising to hear that she still has trauma and pain. In an interview with The London Times, Heard revealed that she was deeply affected by Dr. Christine Blasey Ford’s testimony, and that every woman she knows was affected too. I could relate so much with what she said as it brought up repressed memories and emotions for me too. Heard was likely responding to Depp’s GQ interview, although as the Daily Beast points out she doesn’t mention him by name.
Although Heard, 32, does not directly address the allegations she made about Depp, or say his name, she comes close when she tells the paper, in response to a question about what she has learned in recent years: “I believe the truth is the only thing that’s sustainable. I just didn’t realize how much it would fucking hurt getting there. I don’t know where that finish line is, but I fight every single day, and every single day it gets better. And every single woman that comes up to me and says thank you reminds me of my instinct to believe that right always wins, ultimately, that a lie is not sustainable, injustice is not sustainable.”
Heard also tells The Sunday Times that she found herself “triggered” by the Kavanaugh hearing in September, in which Dr. Christine Blasey Ford accused then-Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh of sexual assault before the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee.
Asked if Ford’s testimony revived memories of her own trauma, Heard replies: “The results of [trauma] are sneaky. They’re not as obvious as you think. I don’t hide under a table when I hear a loud bang, though that happens to certain people with PTSD. Trauma sneaks up on you in weird ways, where all of a sudden you find yourself in a puddle on the floor, crying while watching this play out live on Fox or CNN … and you wonder why you care so much. It’s not your trial, right? But it is. It is.”
Heard adds: “Every single woman I know watching that hearing was triggered. I don’t know a single woman who watched it and didn’t have their heart break. We are all Dr. Ford. And we know it.”
[From The London Times as reported by The Daily Beast]
I appreciate how she likened trauma from abuse to PTSD from war. Until it happened to me and I shut down emotionally I didn’t think of it that way. I didn’t think I had the right to be traumatized from an assault I suffered as a teenager because it didn’t fit the mold of violent rape. Dr. Ford is a hero and she is continuing to pay the price for speaking out. She’s moved four times, she continues to get death threats and she’s had to hire a private security team. Her testimony was thoughtful and measured. Meanwhile Kavanaugh was angry and unhinged in his testimony and he is now a Supreme Court justice. The FBI didn’t even interview Dr. Ford, nor did they interview multiple women who came forward to accuse him of rape and assault.
Phtoso credit: WENN and Avalon.red
I feel her. I always believed her. I don’t care what her motivation was for being married to Depp.
The way she speaks about it tells me she knows what it’s like to be in an abusive relationship.
Same. This statement was very eloquent and heartfelt. I’m right there with her. That testimony was extremely triggering to me and I cannot think of a single female friend who would disagree with me. Sadly, we’ve all be there.
Celebitchy, you and others have opened up a safe space here for survivors. I thank you all from the bottom of my heart. Hugs.
Yeah i believe her as well.
Sadly this the reality of victims. They’re disbelieved, they suffer on privately, they have to deal with PTSD every day.
I’m not necessarily her fan as an actress, though I’ll watch Aquaman only to support her, but i have so much respect for her courage and how it seems to have emerged at the other side of the nightmare as a better person, with all the work she’s doing with charities. Looking to her instagram is really inspiring, like you can go through hell but still be a better person after (good luck to her)
We dealt with some nasty stuff last year and it gave me a completely new perspective on trauma and the effect it has on you, not just emotionally but physically as well. I say I had PTSD, but in reality I think it was just delayed grieving that I couldn’t do until the trauma was over and I knew we were finally safe.
It surprises me how clueless and lacking in empathy some people are about other people’s trauma. I guess they have never gone through their own fire or else they would “get it” better.
I admire her courage and the way she handled herself with so much class and dignity in such hard situation and while her ex was gaslighting her name.
Her involvement with charities is remarkable, she works with some organizations for a long time and after her divorce she is spending more of her energy with it, that is amazing.
I believe her and I will support her work.
Also I think she express herself really well.
Yes, we were all triggered — even the ones of us that don’t have a big abuse story — we all have something. And we all dodged the intrusion of men so many times there’s no way to remember them all. It was a rough week for my female friends. But I’m so encouraged by the progress we’re making. It isn’t easy. And it’s not over.
Well, she’s right. I don’t really know any women who have not had some form of sexual assault from a man. I don’t think she has to refer to Depp about this. i’m sure she has a lot of her own stories from other guys.
A bit off-topic – but, I wonder what the other justices on the Supreme Court think about Kavanaugh’s appointment. I would pay real money to find out.
I was a HUGE Johnny Depp fan for years. And when he first married Amber I thought he had become a cliche and that she was probably a gold digger. When she came out with her story about him I did not for one second not believe her. She has continued to handle herself with dignity and grace and he is a disappointment and a mess.
Sexual abuse survivors suffer PTSD more frequently than military veterans.
Unlike vets, we don’t get to talk about our war. In the eyes of the public we aren’t ‘heroes’. But we are. You are.
What evidence do you have to support your PTSD claim?
Is that a real question?
proving my point about hostile attitudes surrounding assault
do you have access to studies behind a paywall or do I need to find laymans sources for you? lol, actually, i wont do any of that for you, because i dont like you right now. there have been some recent studies supporting this, although the direct comparison tends to not be made because people care so much more about veterans than women at home and they react like you.
rape victims experience ptsd at about 50%
max estimates for ptsd active duty is 20%
all from the wiki and google
I love your take on this important issue. Thank you.
Happy to see how we all here are now more educated women. I remember comments from the time when it all went down. The community here was torn between believers and blamers. So glad to see we have evolved. Much love & let’s help others evolve.