After being falsely accused by a deranged ex, why I now admit it was wrong to ever get involved in Johnny Depp’s private life
Contested historic claims must be dealt with by law enforcement, not trial by social media
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One of the biggest issues in the mainstream media today is that so few players are prepared to admit when they got something horribly wrong.
In the culture war, folk dig deeper into their trenches and sometimes there is little chance to take a breath and realise that the most sensible thing would be to reverse course or at least address errors with a degree of nuance.
Today, just days after announcing I am launching a new independent show called Dan Wootton Outspoken after leaving GB News in a free speech row, I get the opportunity to do just that.
I have stayed silent for many years on Johnny Depp versus Amber Heard, despite ending up an unwitting party in the former Hollywood golden couple’s bid for mutual destruction in a British courtroom.
With five years of hindsight and a changed personal outlook thanks to my own MSM cancellation, I now admit that I should never have got involved in the carnival of commentary on the catastrophic breakdown of Johnny’s relationship.
DERANGED LIES
Having spent the last six months battling deranged lies from an abusive ex-boyfriend designed to destroy my career through a social media campaign, supported by a leftist criminal working for the fantasists at Byline Times, I know how difficult it can be to defend yourself against these sorts of smears, even though I have now been fully exonerated in two separate investigations by the Metropolitan and Scottish police.
The hatred that some former lovers carry is, disturbingly, enough to see them manipulate the truth to bring down their ex at almost any cost.
Now here’s for the important nuance that many of Johnny’s supporters – the so-called Deppheads – will not be prepared to accept: This is not my bid to in any way attack or cause further trauma for Ms Heard.
Amber is, I believe, a misunderstood woman, who never wanted to be dragged through two personally costly and, in the case of the US, reputationally devastating court cases. I got to know her a little after our careers became surprisingly intertwined and, even though our politics couldn’t be more different, believe the public perception of her is wrong.
It’s unfortunate that Johnny felt the need to drag her through two unseemly court cases, but I can now see that he saw no other way to declare his perceived innocence to the world in order to be able to return to his passion of acting, without any cloud over him resulting in reluctance by the big studios to hire him in blockbusters.
In other words, he was determined to clear his name at almost any cost.
Having found myself in a comparably ugly situation, I admit to now understanding his desire, no matter how irrational.
Everyone else might be able to move on, but the lingering taint that is connected to a male in the spotlight after those sorts of accusations never completely dissipates. Not even close.
Which is why we are seeing more and more bitter and twisted former exes or jilted lovers making spurious complaints to the media or sometimes law enforcement without corroborative evidence with the single goal of destroying a famous person’s life.
INFAMOUS COLUMN
While it has long been lost in the sensational coverage of the trial, my now infamous column in The Sun was actually not focussed on Depp and Heard, but rather the hypocrisy of JK Rowling.
In recent years, I have become one of the most ardent supporters of the feminist Harry Potter author for her brave stance to protect the rights of biological women in the face of abusive conduct from the extreme trans lobby.
But at the time, I found Rowling’s hypocrisy over the #MeToo movement infuriating.
She was leading the ridiculous “believe all women” charge, while continuing to support Depp in the lead role in her Fantastic Beasts and Where To Find Them franchise.
That simply didn’t add up to me. The column was about that piety, not the specific allegations against Depp.
ALL HELL BROKE LOOSE
But an unfortunate headline online (which I did not write, by the way, and was never used within the column in the printed newspaper) branded Depp a “wife beater” – and all hell broke loose.
The UK court case was filed by the Hollywood actor against The Sun newspaper and me personally – and Amber gave evidence to support our case, which ended up being overwhelmingly backed by the judge.
But as a circus developed, and the most salacious and unfortunate details of a clearly troubled relationship were revealed to the world, I began to realise the whole thing had been a mistake.
I don’t know what happened between Johnny and Amber on the plane or at the mansion – and, frankly, it was not my business to interfere.
I greatly regret that I ever did.
Relationships are complex things, after all. Amber had legal and criminal recourse to deal with any allegations of abuse – that’s how they should have been handled, not via trial by social media.
As it turned out, everyone lost as a result of the bombshell – and I believe unnecessary – trials.
AN APOLOGY TO JOHNNY, AMBER AND THE SUN
So today I’m sorry to both Johnny and Amber for contributing to their heartache.
And to The Sun and it's brilliant legal team for putting them in an unenviable position, too.
Sometimes it’s only hitting rock bottom that allows you to re-evaluate decisions you’ve made in the past – and I’ve had the privilege to do that over the past few years and know I am a better journalist as a result.
One of the missions of my life now is to fight back against the weaponisation of people’s perfectly legal private business in order to cancel successful careers.
POLICE BEING USED
There is now a two-tier justice system in the UK, where high profile (and mostly right wing) personalities are a focus of police, regardless of the lack of evidence or credibility from accusers driven by overwhelming malice. Russell Brand is just another recent example.
Just like Johnny before me, many of those close to me tell me that now I have been completely cleared, I should just move on and concentrate on the amazing life I have, with a brilliant family, and the best and most loyal partner on earth, and a very exciting opportunity in the alternative media space.
But salvaging one’s unfairly damaged reputation sometimes matters more than anything else.
And that’s why we should all think twice before joining any sort of concocted MSM witch hunt – when it comes to Johnny Depp, I wish I had.
Good on you for writing this. Making a mistake is part of being a human. Respect to you for accepting you made one just as each and every one of us has too at some point in our lives
There can be a high price to pay in defence of pride. If the important legal battles are won, move on, let go, use your voice for a greater good.