美国国家公共电台 NPR--Did the court of public opinion influence the Depp v Heard verdict?

Did the court of public opinion influence the Depp v Heard verdict?

Transcript¹

A jury in Fairfax, Va., on Wednesday ruled in Johnny Depp's favor, and he will be awarded more than $10 million in his defamation² case against his ex-wife Amber³ Heard.

A MART?NEZ, HOST:

Outside a courtroom in Fairfax, Va., fans were ready for a verdict in favor of Johnny Depp.

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UNIDENTIFIED CROWD: (Chanting) Johnny, Johnny, Johnny, Johnny, Johnny.

MART?NEZ: Jurors in the defamation case against his ex-wife and fellow actor Amber Heard awarded Depp more than $10 million in damages. It's been a long trial. And here with us now is one of our culture desk reporters, Andrew Limbong. Andrew, before we start, we should say we will be talking about domestic violence and sexual assault. Before we get to that, can you tell us about the verdict?

ANDREW LIMBONG, BYLINE⁴: So, yeah, the jury unanimously sided with Johnny Depp, you know, saying that Amber Heard acted with actual malice⁵ in defaming him. They originally awarded him $15 million, but because of, you know, certain laws in Virginia, the judge amended⁶ that down to just over $10 million. Here's Depp's lawyer, Benjamin Chew, speaking just outside the courthouse yesterday, thanking the jury and Depp supporters.

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BENJAMIN CHEW: We are also most pleased that the trial has resonated for so many people in the public who value truth and justice.

LIMBONG: Now, I should add that Heard did countersue, and then the jury also awarded her $2 million.

MART?NEZ: OK. Tell us more about the op-ed that Amber Heard wrote that started this whole thing.

LIMBONG: Yeah. So this was back in 2018. And remember, this is when the #MeToo movement was hitting a sort of a cultural peak. Heard published an op-ed in The Washington Post, and in it, she wrote that she had become a, quote, "public figure representing domestic abuse," end quote. And, you know, she didn't name Depp, but the two had just come out of a pretty public and messy divorce. And in the op-ed, she wrote that she was scared to go public with this information because of all the public scrutiny⁷ she'd face and the possible roles she'd lose out on. And, you know, now, Depp's argument for suing her was that the op-ed was baseless and that it cost him roles, you know, including another "Pirates Of The Caribbean" movie.

MART?NEZ: Now, what was the trial like? I know it lasted a long time.

LIMBONG: Yeah, it was. It was about, like, six weeks. And the testimonies⁸ from the two of them went into a lot of lurid⁹ details about their really turbulent relationship, which, you know, I should say, a lot of this information came out in 2020 when Depp sued the English paper The Sun for libel for calling him a, quote, "wife beater." It was a pretty similar case, except for the fact that Depp actually lost that one. But here in the States, Depp testified that Heard was the abuser, that she punched him and once threw a bottle of vodka at him, which cut his finger. And his lawyers also made the argument that the original Washington Post op-ed was timed to publish so that it boosted publicity¹⁰ for the "Aquaman" movie that Amber Heard starred in. Now, Heard denied that and testified that Depp was routinely, like, jealous and angry and abusive and even sexually assaulted her.

MART?NEZ: What has Amber Heard said about the verdict?

LIMBONG: So after the verdict, she posted a statement on Instagram saying she was heartbroken and disappointed, you know, not just for her own case but for what it means for other women. She wrote, quote, "it sets back the clock to a time when a woman who spoke¹¹ up and spoke out could be publicly shamed and humiliated¹². It sets back the idea that violence against women is to be taken seriously." And now, you know, Heard can appeal all this, but it's unclear if she will 'cause, like, if you follow the case at all on social media, you would have seen that when it comes to the sort of court of public opinion, whether it was on, like, Twitter or YouTube or TikTok, all of them, Amber Heard was routinely villainized and painted as an abusive liar¹³. And, you know, we heard those cheers at the top - right? - after the jury decision was announced and Johnny Depp stans were out there every day sort of dressed in "Pirates Of The Caribbean" gear, you know, supporting him throughout the whole thing. And so what's sort of, like, on display is the dynamics¹⁴ of our, you know, cultural fandom sort of interacting with how, you know, we as a society view women.

MART?NEZ: That was NPR's Andrew Limbong. Andrew, thanks a lot.

LIMBONG: Thanks, A.

1 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

2 defamation   

n.诽谤；中伤

参考例句：

• Character defamation can be either oral or written.人格诽谤既可以是口头的也可以是书面的。
• The company sued for defamation.这个公司因受到诽谤而提起诉讼。

3 amber   

n.琥珀；琥珀色；adj.琥珀制的

参考例句：

• Would you like an amber necklace for your birthday?你过生日想要一条琥珀项链吗？
• This is a piece of little amber stones.这是一块小小的琥珀化石。

4 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

5 malice   

n.恶意，怨恨，蓄意；[律]预谋

参考例句：

• I detected a suggestion of malice in his remarks.我觉察出他说的话略带恶意。
• There was a strong current of malice in many of his portraits.他的许多肖像画中都透着一股强烈的怨恨。

6 Amended   

adj. 修正的 动词amend的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• He asked to see the amended version. 他要求看修订本。
• He amended his speech by making some additions and deletions. 他对讲稿作了些增删修改。

7 scrutiny   

n.详细检查，仔细观察

参考例句：

• His work looks all right,but it will not bear scrutiny.他的工作似乎很好，但是经不起仔细检查。
• Few wives in their forties can weather such a scrutiny.很少年过四十的妻子经得起这么仔细的观察。

8 testimonies   

（法庭上证人的）证词( testimony的名词复数 )； 证明，证据

参考例句：

• Davie poured forth his eloquence upon the controversies and testimonies of the day. 戴维向他滔滔不绝地谈那些当时有争论的问题和上帝的箴言。
• Remove from me reproach and contempt; for I have kept thy testimonies. 22求你除掉我所受的羞辱和藐视，因我遵守你的法度。

9 lurid   

adj.可怕的；血红的；苍白的

参考例句：

• The paper gave all the lurid details of the murder.这份报纸对这起凶杀案耸人听闻的细节描写得淋漓尽致。
• The lurid sunset puts a red light on their faces.血红一般的夕阳映红了他们的脸。

10 publicity   

n.众所周知，闻名；宣传，广告

参考例句：

• The singer star's marriage got a lot of publicity.这位歌星的婚事引起了公众的关注。
• He dismissed the event as just a publicity gimmick.他不理会这件事，只当它是一种宣传手法。

11 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

12 humiliated   

感到羞愧的

参考例句：

• Parents are humiliated if their children behave badly when guests are present. 子女在客人面前举止失当，父母也失体面。
• He was ashamed and bitterly humiliated. 他感到羞耻，丢尽了面子。

13 liar   

n.说谎的人

参考例句：

• I know you for a thief and a liar!我算认识你了，一个又偷又骗的家伙！
• She was wrongly labelled a liar.她被错误地扣上说谎者的帽子。

14 dynamics   

n.力学，动力学，动力，原动力；动态

参考例句：

• In order to succeed,you must master complicated knowledge of dynamics.要取得胜利，你必须掌握很复杂的动力学知识。
• Dynamics is a discipline that cannot be mastered without extensive practice.动力学是一门不做大量习题就不能掌握的学科。