In the past days, I have been wondering how does the Presumption of Innocence apply in the Film Industry.

“The presumption of innocence is a legal principle that every person accused of any crime is considered innocent until proven guilty.”

The practical example that I have in my mind is the Amber Heard and Johnny Depp trial, which has greatly affected Johnny Depp’s career even before he was proven guilty in court. Even though he lost many acting roles because of his ex-wife’s accusations, on Wednesday, he won the trial in court.

Considering this practical example, is it fair that everyone decided he is guilty, even before the court took a decision? Is it fair that he lost all those acting roles, even before he got a chance to prove his innocence in court? Is it even legal?

At the end of the day, any of us could be accused and sued by anyone for anything. Would that mean that our career would immediately end just because someone has a problem with us? Or we would get a chance to prove our innocence first, in trial and be judged by the rest of the world only after we have been proven guilty?

How does the “Presumption of Innocence” apply in the Film Industry? I am a bit confused, to be honest.

This is the world we live in, when anyone can take anything out of context and edit evidence into "looking bad" for the other one. We are filmmakers, we are well aware of the powers of photo & video editing. I felt bad for the guy. In the end, he is just a really good person who married the wrong woman. 

People seem to have forgotten about this presumption and they want to do justice before the actual justice even has a chance to decide anything. It's insane, really. Justice should be served equally, to everyone, regardless of their gender, nationality or race. It should not matter if you are a man or a woman, evidence is what should matter and it should not be allowed to destroy someone's lives based on stereotypes. Not all men are violent and abusive. Some are really good people. Not all women are manipulative and evil. Some are really good women. Anyone can be a victim. I can only imagine how difficult it must be to be considered the abuser when, in fact, you were the victim all this time. Sometimes, life is just not fair. I was happy that justice has been made for this person. I am curious if Amber will also get her punishment for lying under oath. I doubt she will, because she is famous. But at least now, we are all aware that our childhood hero, Johnny Depp, is not an evil and abusive person. 

Anong Lawan said:

People seem to have forgotten about this presumption and they want to do justice before the actual justice even has a chance to decide anything. It's insane, really. Justice should be served equally, to everyone, regardless of their gender, nationality or race. It should not matter if you are a man or a woman, evidence is what should matter and it should not be allowed to destroy someone's lives based on stereotypes. Not all men are violent and abusive. Some are really good people. Not all women are manipulative and evil. Some are really good women. Anyone can be a victim. I can only imagine how difficult it must be to be considered the abuser when, in fact, you were the victim all this time. Sometimes, life is just not fair. I was happy that justice has been made for this person. I am curious if Amber will also get her punishment for lying under oath. I doubt she will, because she is famous. But at least now, we are all aware that our childhood hero, Johnny Depp, is not an evil and abusive person. 

My thoughts exactly!

Fjolla Teuta said:

This is the world we live in, when anyone can take anything out of context and edit evidence into "looking bad" for the other one. We are filmmakers, we are well aware of the powers of photo & video editing. I felt bad for the guy. In the end, he is just a really good person who married the wrong woman. 

You are right! Everything can be taken out of context and edited. The public opinion is not trained to understand this and for this reason, only experts should be allowed to decide, in court, if someone is guilty or innocent.

I closely followed the trial, not because I intended to, but because everyone else around me has been following it and discussing it everywhere: on social media, on youtube, on tik tok, on live streams, in real life. I live in Romania and a trial from USA was extremely popular here, on the other side of the world. Johnny Depp is a very loved actor by many people from all over the world because he gave life to so many characters that we love: Jack Sparrow, Edward Scissorhands, Grindelwald, Mortdecai and the list goes on and on. His talent and the way he brings his characters to life is special.

When the trial began, it was so hard to believe that he was the monster that his ex-wife told the world he is. Everyone was so dissappointed. But when he fought back for his innocence and the truth came to surface, everyone was so upset this injustice happened to a good person and that society allowed this to happen. His ex-wife even lied under oath and I doubt she will receive the legal punishment for this.

Now that the trial is over and we all know the truth, I hope that he can heal after going not only through an abusive relationship, but also through the experience of having everyone you know turn your back and choose not to believe in you. I hope he can forgive, in his heart, all those who were mean to him all these years and see him bring to life Jack Sparrow in another “Pirates of the Caribbean” movie. As for the “Presumption of innocence”, sadly, it never really applied because people love scandal. When you are successful, there are some people who just love to tear you down with every opportunity they have and he was a very popular and successful man. I hope that one day, this will apply to everyone and give them a fair chance to prove their innocence.

Maura Nicolaita said:

I closely followed the trial, not because I intended to, but because everyone else around me has been following it and discussing it everywhere: on social media, on youtube, on tik tok, on live streams, in real life. I live in Romania and a trial from USA was extremely popular here, on the other side of the world. Johnny Depp is a very loved actor by many people from all over the world because he gave life to so many characters that we love: Jack Sparrow, Edward Scissorhands, Grindelwald, Mortdecai and the list goes on and on. His talent and the way he brings his characters to life is special.

When the trial began, it was so hard to believe that he was the monster that his ex-wife told the world he is. Everyone was so dissappointed. But when he fought back for his innocence and the truth came to surface, everyone was so upset this injustice happened to a good person and that society allowed this to happen. His ex-wife even lied under oath and I doubt she will receive the legal punishment for this.

Now that the trial is over and we all know the truth, I hope that he can heal after going not only through an abusive relationship, but also through the experience of having everyone you know turn your back and choose not to believe in you. I hope he can forgive, in his heart, all those who were mean to him all these years and see him bring to life Jack Sparrow in another “Pirates of the Caribbean” movie. As for the “Presumption of innocence”, sadly, it never really applied because people love scandal. When you are successful, there are some people who just love to tear you down with every opportunity they have and he was a very popular and successful man. I hope that one day, this will apply to everyone and give them a fair chance to prove their innocence.

I hope that, too!