He said, she said: A media circus is not how marriages should end

Like sinking into quicksand, I was sucked into the defamation trial between celebrity actors Johnny Depp and Amber Heard. My news and social media feeds were flooded with memes, hashtags, TikTok rants and fake news on the saga. Friends and family members forwarded links and updates.

The allegations are disturbing, but not new in substance. Among other things, Heard accuses Depp of physical violence and sexual assault, while under the influence of drugs and alcohol. Depp accuses Heard of being the abusive one in the marriage that lasted from 2015 to 2017, including by hitting him, throwing a vodka bottle which severed the tip of his finger, and defecating in their bed.