While Amber Heard Uses Personal Experience For Activism, Johnny Depp Remains Face Of Ill-Timed Dior Campaign

Amber Heard and Johnny Depp have recently come through a very messy split and are now in the final stages of their divorce following allegations of domestic abuse against Depp and restraining orders to be sought by Heard. The former high-profile couple has now reached a settlement agreement and Depp is preparing to pay Heard the $7 million agreed upon. Heard has stated that the entire amount will go to charity.

Amber Heard Domestic Violence Emotional PSA: Video https://t.co/vYag9hv5VZ

— Direction Tweet (@Directi0n_Tweet) November 30, 2016

Although directly after the former couple’s legal teams released a joint statement that downplayed the allegations brought against Depp, after a month of the two remaining low profile in their respective lives, Amber Heard has stepped into the spotlight as an advocate against domestic violence. The beauty most recently was the face of a Public Service Announcement on the issue, which was full of emotion. Heard appears in #GirlGaze Project PSA about domestic violence that was released on Friday, November 25, and discusses her own experience as a victim of domestic abuse in the first person, as the Huffington Post wrote.

“‘How is this happening to me? I’m strong. I’m smart. I’m not a victim,’ the 30-year-old ‘The Danish Girl’ star says in the two-minute video. ‘I guess there is a lot of shame attached to that label of victim. It happens to so many women. When it happens to you behind closed doors, with someone you love, it’s not that straightforward. If a stranger did this… it would be a no-brainer.'”

The Magic Mike star then goes on to remind viewers that domestic abuse is not always physical and that it is often mental and emotional.

“I have a unique opportunity to remind other women… this doesn’t have to be the way it is. You don’t have to do it alone. You’re not alone. And also, we can change this. Violence against women is not limited to actual physical violence. It is also about how we deal with it and how we talk about it in the media culture. We need to take responsibility for how we talk about these things.”

While Amber Heard has used her fallout and volatile relationship with Depp to help others, Depp, who many are stating will suffer the effects of the breakup for months to come in regards to his career, continues to be seen in the Dior Sauvage campaign ads, both in print and in commercial form, which have a dark undertone to them. Although men’s cologne ads are often meant to appeal to the rough, mysteriously debonair, yet cave-man-esque aspect of the male sex, it’s certainly worth wondering as to whether Depp regrets taking part in the campaign now that he is on the accusing end of domestic violence claims. The Daily Beast noted why the cologne ad with the tagline “Wild at Heart,” is disturbing.

“What’s disturbing about Depp’s ads is the inadvertent marriage of virility and violence, with an alleged domestic abuser playing the role of ‘real man.’ If Heard’s allegations are true, then Depp’s ‘wildness’ should be anything but aspirational.”

The image of Depp staring off into the distance with his sleeves rolled up and each knuckle decorated with massive metal rings, after he has pulled a shovel from the trunk of a car he had driven wildly through the desert in, is all a bit strange in the now. Although Depp has always been the dark, mysterious and rugged type, the context of the ad is a bit ill-timed. In not requesting Dior to pull the ad, perhaps Depp is simply making it known that he is not going to back away from commitments, such as the campaign, nor change who he is to win back fans’ approval and admiration.

Johnny Depp Steps Out After J.K. Rowling Defends ‘Fantastic Beasts’ Casting https://t.co/YZjp05az2O via @JustJared

— Mary (@cheers16) November 30, 2016

At the time the allegations were made by Heard against Depp, the actor’s legal team released a statement indicating that Johnny would not speak on such falsities, as the publication reminds.

“Given the brevity of this marriage and the most recent and tragic loss of his mother, Johnny will not respond to any of the salacious false stories, gossip, misinformation, and lies about his personal life.”

And so it appears that Johnny Depp is not interested in addressing anything regarding the claims at the present, either.

[Feature Image by Jason Merritt/Getty Images]