Media bias, a pervasive force that shapes our understanding of events, often leads to a one-sided narrative. This narrative, in turn, creates an echo chamber where our personal ideals go unchallenged. Frequently, our social media feeds that are tailored to our preferences and beliefs reinforce our biases, hindering honest conversations and debates and leading to a stunt in intelligence and knowledge of current events.
One consequence of this media bias is the unwavering opinions it formulates in those who don’t receive negative feedback well because they never see it. This leads to stubborn debates and no real discussion beyond petty remarks and cheap shots about personal beliefs. One example of these massive consequences shaped by modern media is the Depp v. Heard trial that took the internet by storm and left Amber Heard decimated under the view of the public eye.
The crux and most central issue I find about this case is that it never should’ve been televised or as viral as the point it got. This was meant to be a private affair, and the wide publication of such private and intimate deals in the case was handled insensitively online as people harshly criticized Heard. Johnny Depp has been such a beloved actor for so long that when Heard counter-sued against him, it was the initial prejudice to take his side as a more likable person. As the case developed, both Depp and Heard became caricatures of themselves in the media. Heard was seen as a pathological liar seeking only to tarnish Depp’s reputation, and Depp was infantilized by fans and seen as someone innocent and unknowing.
Although in the majority of cases similar to this, the inherent prejudice would be toward the woman as an estimated 91% of sexual assault victims are female. However, due to both figures, in this case, being celebrities, the prejudice went toward the more famous and renowned: Depp (Cal Poly Humboldt). Typically, this initial prejudice wouldn’t matter much, but as this case was taken to civil court rather than criminal court, perhaps as a strategic PR move, the internet quickly latched onto it.
It seemed as if every other video was clips taken out of context to make Depp seem innocent and to make Heard seem incompetent and altogether like a liar. Many clips were spread of her repeating herself and not having thoroughly thought through points and testimonies, and these supposed “slip-ups” in her story, which were likely just lapses in memory, were used against her to undermine her character and the verity of her statements. Anyone online publicly supporting Heard would be immediately bashed. It seemed as if the entire internet unquestionably took Depp’s side without knowing any of the actual facts of the case, me included. These are the immense dangers of herd mentality.
Heard was autotuned, memed, and publicly dragged, and a direct clip of her testimony stating an instance of domestic abuse against her was used as an audio to lip sync to by over 5,000 people. The harsh, apathetic view and the lack of any sympathy for domestic abuse victims, in this case, were honestly shocking and posed a threat to women now more fearful of coming out about their own experiences as Heard was made the laughing stock of social media for sharing her story (NBC News).
Each clip shown and spread around social media was extremely deliberate. She was taken out of context in numerous scenarios to weaken her points and testimonies. They showed supposed inconsistencies in her story, like when she referred to the makeup palette she used to cover up bruises as a bruise kit, and people took it out of context to mean she was applying fake bruises. There were also multiple clips of trivial moments in the case, such as the amount of wine Depp drank, which was heavily made fun of online to show the incompetence of Heard’s attorneys.
However, what wasn’t shown were the strong claims Heard made on the stand that didn’t support the widespread opinion of her character and this caricature of an evil villain they had created of her. Many of her inconsistencies or “apathy,” as many people deemed it, were due to the harsh nature of the subjects she was discussing and the trauma she experienced being forced to relive it through her testimony. She even had a panic attack on the stand while being made to give a testimony of one of the instances of alleged sexual assault and rape while Depp sat there watching. The entirety of the case was handled wrong under the media in a way that mocked her for coming forward while lifting Depp onto a platform of almost a childlike innocent version of himself, as is a common issue of how fans treat grown men in the public eye.
Having since looked back on the court case and both sides’ perspectives with less media bias and external sway to my opinions, I’ve formulated a new opinion, and I don’t think there is truly any right side to the case. I think Heard was treated unfairly in the case and that the media treated her horribly, and overall that Depp was far too idolized simply for his reputation and looks; however, as bystanders and an audience to this case with conflicting opinions, I don’t think there’s any way for us to know which one is the true victim or if either of them is really innocent in this at the end of the day.
But this overall is the main risk of media bias and herd mentality: life is not black and white. People want to see a case like this and just have the correct answer, but life and people are complex, and it is most likely that neither of them is innocent in this. This cut-and-dry way of thinking is so detrimental to our society and only contributes to the oversimplification of complex topics and society as we know it. It’s frightening how quickly people choose sides and how quickly they’ll abandon ship.
Although we’ll never have a definitive answer in the Depp v. Heard case, I believe Heard was far too villainized under the public eye, likely due to her more apathetic attitude and outward tone in court and the often overlooked misogyny, both internal and external, that is intrinsically intertwined in our justice system. It is so critical to attempt to view media through as unbiased of a lens as possible. If we continue shouting at each other while stuck in an echo chamber, unable to hear or listen to anyone else, then we become a society blind to our own issues.
