Lori Falce: What's the real outcome of Depp-Heard trial?

Our long national nightmare is over. The Johnny Depp-Amber Heard trial has come to an end.

OK, I’m going to confess. I have been caught up in the weeks of testimony. The drama. The endless analysis of movie stars emoting in a courtroom and just as endless criticism of lawyers’ performances. My sister and I have gone over each day’s testimony like we are watching game film while we plan plays for the Super Bowl.

As most of the world knows, whether they like it or not, Depp sued his ex-wife, Heard, over a domestic violence op-ed she wrote, published in the Washington Post, which alluded to but did not specifically name him. She countersued.

The ensuing trial took six weeks. For context, most of the murder trials that I have covered in my 30-plus years as a journalist have taken less than a week from opening statements to verdict. The longest one I’ve experienced was eight days.

On Wednesday, the jury handed down a split decision. Depp was awarded $10 million in compensatory damages and $5 million in punitive damages. Heard was awarded $2 million compensation for a statement Depp’s attorney made but no punitive damages.

One is tempted to make this a simple math problem. It does seem like $15 million is greater than $2 million so there’s a clear winner. It’s really not that simple.

The winners — or losers — remain to be seen.

This trial brought attention to things people need to know, like the fact that not all victims of domestic violence are women — they aren’t. That a powerful person can be bullied and cowed and beaten — because they can. That money doesn’t insulate you from abuse — it doesn’t.

But what will it mean going forward?

Will there be a backlash against women who come forward with stories of abuse at the hands of a powerful man? Will this be a pendulum swinging back from the “believe the women” mantra of the #MeToo movement?

Will this remove the stigma from men coming forward as victims of violence? If a three-time Oscar nominee can step up, will others feel safe in doing so?

Will this mean more people ask for help because they saw the outpouring of support on social media for Team Johnny? Or will fewer step forward, afraid of the derision leveled at Heard, who many people saw as unsympathetic and hard to believe?

This trial was about more than memes and TikTok videos and millions in damages. It wasn’t about Captain Jack Sparrow taking on that redhead from “Aquaman.” It is about a cultural attitude toward abuse and drawing a line in the sand between what was acceptable and what is acceptable.

“Believe the women” is simplistic — and frankly a little insulting. It presupposes women can’t lie and that all men are predators. I know people of all genders who break stereotypes.

We shouldn’t blindly believe. We should listen without prejudice — either for or against purported victim or alleged perpetrator. Take reports seriously. Investigate them diligently. Don’t dismiss or deny without facts, but don’t condemn without them, either.

The Depp-Heard trial is over, but the case of how America addresses abuse claims is still being tried.