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Believe All Women, the movement that resulted from the #MeToo crusade after the infamous Harvey Weinstein case. The phrase “believe all women,” in particular, grew in popularity after the Brett Kavanaugh trial, in which, the sexual allegation accusation from Christine Ford was finally proven to be false. She lied. So, should we still believe all women?
After the Senate hearings that proved then-Judge Kavanaugh’s innocent, there were still those who regrettably believed his accuser. There were still those who falsely believe Judge Kavanaugh got away with abuse, ultimately leading the #BelieveAllWomen movement to live on.
I never understood the movement quite frankly. Having gone to an all-girls school, I understood quite well that women are capable of lying, manipulating, and bullying. I saw some of my classmates get constantly humiliated by passive-aggressive maneuvers from other girls. Some never learned from their bad behavior because they would always get away with it.
Do we somehow think that when women become adults, they suddenly become honest and evolved citizens (at least more so than their male peers)? What an absurd and foolish thought.
Both men and women have the capacity to be deceptive. Although it is true that males have an easier capacity to physically abuse (despite leftist protestations that men and women are physically equal), women are also able to take advantage of their position and both physically lie and abuse a man; and then tell the world the opposite happened. Because after all, “believe all women.”
It is hard for men to admit a woman abused them, and even when they do, who would believe them?
We now might have a case that could change things. A case that may prove that we don’t always have to believe someone based on their immutable characteristics (namely gender), but by evidence, character, and simply, the search for the truth. A case that does all that, and that people from both sides of the political spectrum could agree on. That case is the Depp v. Heard (Johnny Depp against ex-wife Amber Heard) defamation case. Things could get interesting.
I am not one to write or dwell upon celebrity matters, let alone gossip—but this situation strikes me as different. The trial could make a significant cultural impact in a society that continuously blames all of its issues on white men. Did Johnny have white male privilege in this particular case? It does not seem that way.
Amber Heard claimed to have been the victim of domestic abuse in the height of the #MeToo and #BelieveAllWomen movements. Her fame soared, and Johnny Depp’s reputation took a dive. His beloved characters like Jack Sparrow were denied to him, and she got cast in career-making roles.
So far, online investigators have uncovered audio after audio of Johnny Depp and Amber Heard, where she admits to hitting him. In one instance, she said “tell the world Johnny. Tell them… I Johnny Depp, a man, I’m a victim too of domestic violence… and see how many people believe or side with you,” in response to his complaints about losing a finger in an altercation where she threw a sharp bottle at him.
Despite your own perception of who Johnny Depp is, or perhaps—as an actor—has made political comments which rubbed you the wrong way, try to transcend that and think for a moment about all the men he represents: men who may have been wrongly accused of domestic violence, sexual harassment, or rape. Think that this time perhaps this is a figure that could represent a change of precedent for all of those innocent men.
This is not a time for the “believe all women,” or “male privilege” slogans.
