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I Knew Johnny Depp was Abusive in 5 Minutes

And it didn’t have a damn thing to do with Amber

Jacquette Augh
3 min readMay 23, 2022
Black stencil street art of Johnny Depp on a mustard colored wall. Photo by E. Diop on Unsplash.

To start, I’m not saying a single thing about Amber Heard or anything she’s done. Not one thing. I’m not saying anything about their divorce or defamation case. This story is purely opinion based on my own conceptions of and understanding of abuse, and in it I’m talking about one thing and one thing alone: the way Johnny Depp speaks on the stand.

I’ve purposefully avoided almost all of the coverage and opinion pieces on this case, but the internet seems determined to get me to partake in the spectacle, and at one point I did give in and watch a couple of clips from the courtroom. I was struck by what I saw: in a single five minute clip of Depp speaking on the stand, I recognized him — not as an actor, but as my ex. I knew right then and there that, no matter what Amber’s side was, he was abusive.

It’s not what you say. It’s how you say it.

1 — The “pause to think”

It’s fake. You can tell by their expression that they’re not really thinking. It’s a show, an act. In actuality, they’ve rehearsed.

2 — Not answering the question that’s asked of them

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Jacquette Augh
Jacquette Augh

Written by Jacquette Augh

STEM PhD, mom, chronically ill, LGBTQ. Interests: immigration, sex+relationships, parenting, lifestyle+finance, trauma+therapy, neuroscience+bioengineering

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