Depp v Heard: Its Evaluation In African Modern Society In Shaping The Choice Of Ideal Partner

A defamation case which was brought by Mr Depp against his ex-wife in an article Ms Heard claimed she was a victim of domestic violence. The majority of the jurors ruled in Mr Depp who denied the alleged claim of domestic abuse by his ex-wife, $15m in compensatory and punitive damages. Ms Heard in one of this three counter-claims against her ex-husband, 58, she was awarded $2m in compensatory damages. Marital legal suit, which is rife in America especially when the relationship has gone really sour to compare the situation in Africa, in Africa any abuse arising from marriages in Africa don’t often end in court ruling, it leads to agony of either of the partner and such case keep of growing and pose threat to well-being.

The couple who divorced in 2017 presented a conflicting version of their sour relationship in the trail, the court over six weeks has been saddled with divergent details of each account, until on Wednesday the jurors found that Ms Heard statements about her marriage were false and she had acted with actual malice. The ruling comes with a victory day for Mr Depp, after the seven-member jury delivered its verdict, screams and chants of “Johnny, Johnny, Johnny” erupted outside the court, it was more malicious ending and a salt on the wound for the Hollywood starts’ relationship.

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The society is quick to victimize women, especially where they present their own version of a relationship which has gone really bad, making it hard for the other partner to have opinion without getting public backlash. To show what the ruling mean to Mr Depp he said “The jury gave me my life back. I am truly humbled”. There is no doubt that the court’s verdict was sought of vindication for him, he further said “I hope that my quest to have the truth be told will have helped others, men or women, who have found themselves in my situation, and that those supporting them never give up”. It is a huge sense of relieve for the actor.

Although the outcome of the judgment didn’t quite go down well with Ms Heard who feel like that the jury ignored her own version of the story which was “heartbroken” she alleged. In her further disappointment with the verdict, she said “I’m even more disappointed with what this verdict means for other women. It is a setback. It sets back the clock to a time when a woman who spoke up and spoke out could be publicly shamed and humiliated”.  While she has not fully exhausted her legal rights, appeal could be in contemplation, if she strongly felt that the trail court failed to properly appreciate her assertions.

In African modern society the issue of marital abuse is at its peak, and women feared to speak out due to sacrosanctity of marriage in Africa, and quite often those who mustard courage to do are often stigmatized and make mockery of abusive marriage instead of getting support. The ruling in Depp v Heard will serve as a huge relieve for any couple who has been going through abuse in a relationship the greenlight to speak up, it is about wellness and the motivation to keep living like a human being and not being reduced to anything less than that, recently a gospel singer, Osinachi Nwachukwu, has alleged to have been murdered by her husband in Nigeria, after series of abuses in the marriage, due to church affiliation she was not able voice out and talk to the right authority until she is no longer alive to give her own version of the story, it is your right to speak up when you’re abused, and also an option to evaluate compatibility in any relationship, before getting started.