It takes a village to revive the career of an accused perpetrator

It's not that I was necessarily surprised by the news that Johnny Depp had booked a new Hollywood film that will be directed by Marc Webb and co-starred by Penelope Cruz. I have long since ceased to be amazed at the idea of ​​an accused perpetrator, one with mountains of credible evidence against him and a libel case he lost in an English court, being brought back to the forefront of cultural history. And yet there was something undeniably painful about watching Depp so eagerly open the doors for him after years in the wilderness caused by his own incompetence, cruelty and a series of commercial failures. By now we are all all too familiar with this cycle. That doesn't make it any less painful.

It's been seven years since the investigation into Harvey Weinstein's decades-long rape and abuse story sparked the emergence of the #MeToo movement. Change was promised by the hallowed institutions that had harbored perpetrators for generations and fostered hostile work environments that mythologized ideas like the “casting couch.” As many famous men faced tangible consequences for their accused crimes, it seemed as if we could see long-term systemic progress that would not only protect future generations, but also lead to a greater mental shift towards victims and their ability to serve them believe would lead.

That dream shattered pretty quickly and the backlash was surprisingly intense. The cries of “woke” and “cancel culture” were deafening. Women have always been accused of lying about assault and rape to punish men. The legal system has made it almost impossible for victims to stand trial. What was unexpected was the collective violence and well-paid backlash that ensured that victims would forever be afraid to speak out. We saw this in action when Amber Heard did everything “right” as a victim and became public enemy number one thanks to her ex-husband’s expensive legal and media campaign against her. Berating Heard became a cottage industry, whether by YouTube body language experts making up nonsense about her facial features or Etsy sellers distributing merch of her sobbing as she recounted her trauma. Depp's lawyer was rewarded with media contracts. The precedence established by this Virginia court's ruling is dangerous and deliberate. It was never just about hurting Amber Heard.

Depp's PR influence was so effective that it created the false narrative that his career was flawless and celebrated until his marriage. A series of commercial flops, critical disappointments and memes about his bad wigs would say otherwise. The endless reports about his constant lateness on set, using earbuds instead of learning his lines, and once hitting a man do not suggest that he was doing well before Heard came into his life. I don't want to repeat the damn obvious here, but I do want to make it clear how much time, money and work it took to get Depp back to the point where he's applauded at Cannes and Jobs at an Oscar winner receives. This happens because many people work overtime to achieve this. You need to get dozens of people on board to make this decision, to decide that it makes financial and ethical sense for them to do this, and that it is worth the inevitable resistance they will face. They've come to the conclusion that it's more worthwhile to invest in an accused perpetrator who has a terrible professional reputation and hasn't taken a hit in years than, you know, not.

While this story was being reported, two other incidents occurred: James Franco got a glowing, comeback-friendly interview diversity and FKA Twigs received a new trial date for her assault and battery lawsuit against her ex-boyfriend Shia LaBeouf after mediation proved “futile,” according to her attorney. The diversity The interview is embarrassingly sycophantic, with the journalist asking Franco extremely leading questions about being “snubbed” by the academy The Disaster Artist and whether he thought it was unfair to be cast out of Hollywood. It means working overtime to position Franco as a genius who was unfairly excluded from the industry when he was accused of assaulting and manipulating women who paid to take his acting classes. In the LaBeouf case, we see again how the courts can be abused or manipulated to deny justice. Twigs' trial date has already been postponed more than once due to LaBeouf's alleged inaction. Meanwhile, he was on red carpets promoting a Francis Ford Coppola film, with the director proudly declaring that he had deliberately hired “canceled” celebrities to star in his mega-flop. A reminder that LaBeouf has been accused of sexual assault, domestic violence and also killing dogs. Actually “canceled”.

I bring up these incidents because they reveal the powerful framework that exists to provide support to accused perpetrators and to reimagine their so-called plights as matters of “wokeness” or “crazy PC culture.” This is not a new angle, but the ferocity with which it has become an entire political movement seems frighteningly pervasive in current discourse. We talk a lot about “cancel culture,” but what do we call the opposite when empowering accused perpetrators and bigots and empowering victims becomes a sign of pride and politics? Cancel culture? Garden variety hatred with more money behind it? Trumpism? There is certainly a clear line to be drawn between the Depp trial and a so-called comedian headlining a fascist rally and spreading racism under the guise of supporting a politician. Playing sports and profiting from trauma seems like a depressingly solid political platform these days.

Even if it is not profitable, there is an incentive for those in power to ensure that responsibility is pushed aside and supporting accused perpetrators becomes a noble cause. This is self-serving, of course, because it helps keep the doors closed for those who have a lot of skeletons in their closets. The right they feel to maintain an iron grip on their positions and act as if greatness is theirs, without consequences or rules to follow, is obscene but commonplace. For this reason, much of the #MeToo movement in these industries has been reduced to “a few bad apples.”

Things like Depp's sustained comeback don't happen by chance. None of this is inevitable. It is a long-term industry full of intensive funding, manpower and intent. And it sucks. It's another reminder that after years of promising change, we have yet to see anything actually happen to support those in need. There is no money in it, no personal benefit for those who have always benefited more from suffering than from help. And what we get is a reinvigorated rape culture that catapults ghouls like Depp to the top for reasons that have nothing to do with talent or craft. I'm tired.