Hollywood hypocrites fawn over ‘wife beater’ Johnny Depp but they’d never do that for female abuser, says Ulrika Jonsson

NO one can deny that a seven-minute standing ovation for a man found by a judge in an English High Court case to be a domestic abuser is quite an achievement.

Premiering his new film, Jeanne du Barry, at the Cannes Film Festival, Johnny Depp lapped up the warmth and applause from the audience and fans alike.

Johnny Depp received applause from the audience and fans at the Cannes Film FestivalCredit: Splash

It was Depp’s first red carpet appearance since his US court case against his ex-wife, Amber Heard – the actress pictured outside London court in 2020Credit: Getty

This was his first red carpet appearance since his victorious US court case against his ex-wife, Amber Heard, who was found guilty of defaming him as a wife-beater. Not a bad little comeback, huh?

The adulation for Depp was not entirely due to his acting performance as critics seem divided about his portrayal of Louis XV, so it has to come down to a heartfelt welcome back into the fold from a population of humanity with very short memories.

As if winning his case of defamation against Heard, who gave countless examples of his atrocious conduct and made allegations of violent, coercive, denigrating and manipulative behaviour wasn’t enough, people are now — literally — rolling out the red carpet for Depp. He’s a hero.

He hasn’t even had to show any signs of rehabilitation — they just love Johnny.

And yet, this was the man who — among other things — talked in texts about wanting to rape his wife, burn her body and drown her to make sure she was dead. He claimed they were made in jest.

Who wouldn’t want to be in a relationship with a man like that? What a catch.

And this is pretty much the point: Men behaving badly are not only attractive but they are so easily forgiven.

Society would have us believe that bad boys are where it’s at. They are risqué, and risqué is sexy.

Bad boys have edge. They are not dull like the nice men who might treat women well and with respect.

You cower or you fight back

No, life is about adventure, and what better adventure than being headbutted? (He claimed it was accidental.)

Granted, Heard and Depp’s relationship was a highly toxic one and while many might claim her behaviour was far from angelic, it’s important to point out that often relationships like this quickly spiral into situations which are so far removed from decency that it has no semblance of normality for those in it or even bystanders.

In an abusive relationship, you have simply two choices: You cower or you fight back, and the latter is nigh-on impossible — not least because any grasp of reality has left you.

But isn’t it shocking to think that only five years ago we were all rocked by the stories that came out of the #MeToo movement?

Men may have been shocked but, of course, many of us women had sat quietly on stories of abuse and denigration for decades.

Lifetimes, even. It really felt like the movement would bring about substantial changes, not just in attitudes, but in behaviour.

Misogyny was finally in the spotlight, not just the stars of Hollywood and beyond.

I remember feeling hugely relieved and comforted by the movement because it spoke many of the things I’d wanted to say or had whispered under my breath for decades.

It was a true reflection of many of the experiences I’d been forced to endure during my life as a woman — and for the first time, I had real hope that change would come about. Permanent change.

And yet, here we are.

Only this week, actress Ruth Wilson has talked about how the City of Angels has no “moral backbone” — it remains as “fickle” as ever post #MeToo.

She says it has become no more than a box-ticking exercise and change has not been substantive.

Depp may have won his case in the States but not his case against this newspaper, who stated he was a “wife beater”.

The judge here found 12 of the 14 alleged incidents of domestic violence had occurred.

Depp, fourth from right, with cast members, from left, Melvil Poupaud, Pascal Greggory, Benjamin Lavernhe, Pierre Richard, Maiwenn, Diego Le Fur and Pauline PollmanCredit: Getty

Depp in his role as French king Louis XV in Jeanne du BarryCredit: Capital Pictures

Across the pond, however, Heard became the enemy — public enemy number one, in fact.

Mocked globally, across social media, where she was swiftly established as a meme and a joke.

No one wanted to believe her here because . . . well, because Johnny is handsome, a bad boy, and if anything did happen, it was because he was under the influence of drink and drugs. In short, was he being excused?

And people wonder why women don’t speak out.

Women don’t speak out because the patriarchy is still very much alive and kicking.

What’s more is that Heard was somehow seen as a bit too woke during the trial.

She was a representation of a wokeness which misogyny has had enough of. #MeToo might be one thing — but for God’s sake, women, don’t push it!

Of course, Johnny isn’t the only bad boy who hasn’t just made a seamless return to glory and normality but is being rewarded for it (he will remain the face of Dior Sauvage in a new £16million deal).

The list of men who have succeeded in recovering their careers after claims of abuse, violence and drug-taking is nigh-on endless.

Will Smith smacked a man in the mouth on live TV. Then there was Mel Gibson.

What about Roman Polanski, who raped a 13-year-old? He was also patted on the back by the Cannes Film Festival not so long ago.

There are more names and they don’t all have their roots in Hollywood, even though #MeToo does.

No, this is bigger than the world of showbiz. This is the ongoing, relentless, soul-destroying fight women face on a daily basis in their pursuit of equal treatment.

Men, put quite simply, are judged by a different set of rules to us women.

And don’t I know it. In the summer of 1998, following a short, volatile relationship with footballer Stan Collymore, during a work trip to Paris, he dragged me to the floor and kicked me in the head. You know the story. But did you really believe it?

I didn’t bring the story to public attention — luckily for me, there was a TV camera crew in the pub where the attack happened, otherwise I might not still be alive.

I cannot say whether I would have spoken out at the time because I was in shock and I simply didn’t feel the world was ready to be supportive. I was programmed by society to believe that I might not be believed.

And sadly, in many respects I was right. I heard stories, rumours that doubtless would have made their way to social media had it existed in those days.

Like Amber Heard, I would have become a meme myself. Apparently, I “provoked him”. I was “asking for it”. I hadn’t “behaved appropriately”. For which read: I brought it on myself.

None of it was true, of course. The feeling of doubt and shame that hung over me during that time and beyond was palpable.

I found it nigh-on impossible to shake that damaging trope that women ask for it, that women who are abused are weak and stupid, that we must have done something to deserve violence against us. It loomed large in my mindset.

I certainly didn’t feel an ounce of guilt over the situation, despite Collymore calling me and asking me, furiously, if I was happy for him to take full responsibility for the “incident”.

And yes, I was. Yet his accountability only needed to last a few weeks, maybe a couple of months at most — until people’s memories became blurred by misogyny and prejudice against me.

It wasn’t long until he was back in gainful employment.

Because everyone deserves another chance, right?

So while Depp is lapping up all the forgiveness, flattery, sycophancy and worship in the South of France, where is Heard?

She’s living in Spain, raising her two-year-old daughter, largely away from the limelight.

While she says she is excited about working and filming again at some point, she’s been left exhausted and disappointed about her mistreatment and has lost faith in the American legal system.

No doubt she must have lost faith in some aspects of humanity, too.

Because, fundamentally, while Johnny went touring with the late Jeff Beck, she has been ostracised, castigated and judged.

This is sorry evidence that, despite how far we think we’ve come with equality and since #MeToo, very little has actually changed.

Women who speak up with allegations are punished and treated as something other — the best we can hope for is to be ignored. And conviction statistics in this country reflect that.

After my attack, I was offered a platform by a number of women’s charities to lend my celebrity status to raise awareness about violence and abuse.

I didn’t take them up on their offers because predominantly, I didn’t feel I had been victim enough — there were women who had suffered much worse than me.

Also, because 25 years ago, the prospect of speaking up and speaking out felt uncomfortable, and perhaps even pointless in the face of such misogyny and inequality.

I wish I could say I feel differently today but the hero’s welcome Depp received in Cannes proves that my feelings might still be depressingly true.