Mary O’Leary discusses how despite the perceived progress brought about by the MeToo Movement, the treatment of actresses such as Blake Lively and Amber Heard prove we still have a long way to go.
We see it every few years. An actress or celebrity comes out with sexual assault allegations against another public figure, only to be relentlessly bullied by the media and wider populace. Like clockwork, once accusations are made public, said celebrity is subject to a smear campaign rejecting not just her claims, but also her looks, personality, talent and anything else that can punish her for daring to speak out against a beloved male star. Once you notice the pattern, it’s impossible to miss.
The defamation trial between Amber Heard and Johnny Depp exemplified this. Heard was sued by Depp over an op-ed in the Washington Post detailing the backlash she faced for speaking out about the domestic and sexual violence she experienced in a past relationship. Depp was not named or personally accused in the piece, yet he brought her to court. Though Heard lost the trial in the US, Depp lost in the UK before the hate campaign became widespread.
In 2022, it seemed that you couldn’t log into any social media without being bombarded with meme after meme making fun of her facial expressions, manner of speaking, and her appearance. These viral memes as well as short, out of context, clips from the trial only helped to further demonize Heard. What many most likely remember of this period is that the media narrative had not only painted her as a liar, but also as the primary abuser within their relationship.
Heard was not helped by Johnny Depp’s popularity, particularly as Jack Sparrow in Pirates of the Caribbean. In comparison, Heard was not nearly as well known or beloved- and in all honesty, her acting skills pale in comparison to Depp’s. Her lack of acclaim and ‘media personality’ was all it took for her experience to be entirely dismissed without evidence and to be branded the ‘annoying villain’ in Depp's story. This trial not only exemplified how sexual assault in Hollywood is ignored but also how important ‘likeability’ is for people to believe women.
Sexual assault victims onscreen are ‘likeable’ and ‘innocent’ in a way that is spoon fed to audiences thus most can’t imagine an unlikable woman being undeserving of the abuse that she has suffered. Women’s experiences are then completely written off, or worse, painted as completely justified by the perpetrator if true.
It should also be noted that this case is not the one of a kind, with the ongoing legal battle between Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni making headlines following her accusations of sexual harassment against him. Lively too, has been subject to much of the scrutiny Heard was under, with the power she exerted over the It Ends With Us filming process being directly called into question.
In the court of public opinion, Lively’s past controversies do not paint her in a wholeheartedly positive light. That said, the consequences for her misgivings are not and should not be sexual abuse and the subsequent smear campaign she is facing. The truth is, her ‘taking over a movie set’ and making a bad adaptation of a poorly written book are nowhere near the criminality and immorality of sexual assault.
If a person’s stance on abuse depends on the likeability and perceived morality of a victim, then they do not stand against abuse. Asserting that victims must subscribe to these standards to be believed makes it easier for the widespread public to completely write off abuse as a whole. Thus, continuing to promote victimhood as a set standard for what a woman should be: virginal, nice, beautiful, white, skinny, and attractive but not too sexy. While female victims are torn apart for messy hair or being ‘annoying’, male perpetrators are continually allowed to get away with rape.
If a person’s stance on abuse depends on the likeability and perceived morality of a victim, then they do not stand against abuse.
If they fight back against such abuse, they are subject to further interrogation - why didn’t they leave before, or maybe they were the real abusers in the relationships. If they don’t fight back, then they must have wanted it and must be lying for attention. God forbid the victim doesn’t go to the police right away or take it to court immediately or second guess themselves in a process known to be traumatic and confusing.
Heard and Lively are not the only cases that have been turned into entertainment. Cases involving non-celebrities are also prescribed narratives by the public. When abuse allegations become entertainment, people feel entitled to interpret and speculate as they please. Media outlets, influencers, and everyday people prescribe a ‘villain’ and ‘hero’ to cases of real-life abuse. However real life is not for entertainment and victims do not conform to these fictional ‘Hollywood’ standards of likeability, just as they do not consent to the abuse they have suffered.