The former couple squabbled in court over statements that allegedly affected their careers. In the process, they aired their dirty laundry for the world to see.
I am not ashamed to admit that I was a tad bit too curious about the problems of this broken marriage. As early as January 2020, I found myself down rabbit holes of this case and the UK case, not because of their celebrity status but because of the dark direction these disputes were heading.
I was drawn to the vortex of chaos.
If you are not familiar with the case, here is a good overview of everything that was tackled before the jury reached their verdict.
So here we are, both parties have given their closing arguments, the jury has given their verdict, and the world is waiting for the aftermath.
No matter the verdict, there are two things the average person can take away from the woes of these world-famous celebrities.
1. No One is Good, We all have Dirty Laundry
If you are watching this trial and it makes you feel like you are a degree better than these fallen people, your eyes need prying open.
Some of the claims in the case describe heinous crimes.
One party is either guilty of terrible conduct toward another human being or guilty of terrible lies at the expense of another human being. In the end, the jury believed the latter.
Both offenses—though with varying weight in court proceedings—are egregious. Either act reduces their victims to something less than human, pawns for personal gratification and selfish gain.
If these offenses were something we could take lightly, personal apologies could have sufficed. And the world would not have kept an eye on this trial.
Like the repeated line in this K-drama I have been watching, if an apology was enough, we would not need laws and the police.
People are selfish and will get away with what they could as long as they can. Humans take whatever they can at the expense of others. We are slowly losing our resources, and animals are going extinct.
If you take a step back, you will see that the trial was a mirror of how flawed, messed up, and selfish people are.
The testimonies of Johnny and Amber recounted the beginning of a blossoming romance. This romance bloomed even if both parties were still in committed relationships with other people. They did what they wanted at the expense and the feelings of others.
At the onset of the relationship, things were already pretty dirty. On top of that, Amber testified that the first violent incident between the two happened within the first year of their relationship.
These dirty pieces of clothing were spoken about in detail, starting with passion and desire, and then tapering off into tears and heartbreak.
Although we do not know if any of these stories are whole truths, these are the narratives they have chosen to tell us. Like all celebrities, people only see what we show the world, and hear what we tell them (blatantly said or subconsciously through body language). People have masks and wear the best ones fitting the occasion.
We all have parts of ourselves hidden from the world, thoughts we would never speak of, and habits we want to get rid of. Convince yourself all you want. We all have dirty laundry.
I know I am not perfect. There are personal struggles I have hidden from the world and attitudes that need refining in the greater scope of society.
I am learning to love life and the people around me after harboring hate and anger from events where I felt slighted. These feelings have only been shared with one or two people, the extent of their knowledge may even be slim.
With these experiences, I have learned how selfish people can be and how prejudiced the world truly is.
Like the case of Johnny Depp and Amber Heard, so many things can be used against you, twisted, and blown out of proportion (evident in both suits). To minimize my issues with people around me, I have learned to keep to myself and only open up to a very few.
In the end, I only had myself and the knowledge of who I am to get me through the painful words and actions of others. I had to be strong enough to admit my mistakes and apologize for things I may have inadvertently done.
If you find yourself lost in some similar trough, your best bet is the truth about yourself. As long as you know and are accountable to yourself, admit and accept your faults, work on your issues and keep yourself in check (no matter how hard it is), you will have someone to rely on and nothing to hide.
2. All Careers are Fragile
Johnny Depp and Amber Heard sued each other for reparation over their tarnished careers. Both parties sued for millions of dollars to cover the damages caused by words from the other party.
These words have allegedly impaired the other’s capacity to earn a living. The jury then awarded Depp a total of fifteen-million dollars for these damages far from the 50-million he sued for. Amber Heard was also awarded two million dollars as compensatory damages far less than her 100-million dollar countersuit.
The spectacle displays how fragile one’s career is. One word, one wrong move, and the house of cards fall.
It doesn’t matter what industry you are in. There are consequences when you take advantage of a position for ambition, and there are also instances where you find yourself at the wrong place and time.
Lawyers get disbarred, doctors lose their licenses, and experienced professionals can get kicked any time.
We all have dirty laundry that could be used against us. No one is safe from such attacks. In this time and age, everything could amount to offense. Past mistakes and prejudices could be unearthed and used against you.
We can all lose everything from a stupid decision we made when we were young.
Not just that, you can lose everything even if you did nothing wrong. In the case of Johnny and Amber, someone should be innocent. Either way, the jury found both sides guilty of defamation.
After almost thirty years in the semiconductor industry, my father was laid-off in a snap. At his old age, he could no longer get back on track.
As I have been looking for a new way to approach working and my career, I have learned one important thing: There are things that will always be out of your control—There is no such thing as job security.
All careers are fragile.
The pandemic is a prime example of how unstable the working world is. No matter how clean your laundry may be, some things are just out of your hands.
Johnny was riding on waves of movie franchises one day and found himself washed up on a desert island abandoned and alone the next. Amber was considered a break-out artist with her role in Aquaman one day and was allegedly put in the background the next.
What more are the careers of minuscule people like you and me?
Even with the verdict, Johnny still has millions of dollars in properties that he could liquidate to pay the damages he owes his ex-wife. I am uncertain if the same could be said for Amber given the verdict against her.
Everything can break and crash. Just like Johnny having a safety net can protect you.
You can be wise with your money and ensure you have an amount set aside for when things go haywire. You can diversify your investment portfolio, invest in multiple essential industries, get into real estate, or monetize your talents. But then, you can never be too careful.
Even with all your precautions, you will never know what will happen tomorrow. A single event can change everything down the line.
With the verdict, both careers will change forever.
When all else fails:
“Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life?
“And why do you worry about clothes? See how the flowers of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you—you of little faith?”
Matthew 6:26-30
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