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Monica Lewinsky has come out with scathing criticism for the general public in regards to the Heard/Depp trial.
By now, it's safe to assume virtually everyone in the US has heard of the hottest court case to hit the presses—the trial surrounding the defamation lawsuit between Hollywood stars Amber Heard and Johnny Depp.
The trial was a result of Depp suing Heard over a 2018 OpEd piece where she made allegations of abuse while not specifically naming him. The allegations led to Depp becoming somewhat of a pariah in Hollywood and losing out on prospective film projects and being dropped from others.
On June 1, the court made it's official ruling in favor of Depp, causing quite a stir in the celebrity world as stars and fans alike either celebrated or criticized the ruling.
One of these critics was Monica Lewinsky.
Lewinsky, infamous for her affair with former President Bill Clinton during his term in office back in the 90s, published an opinion piece in Vanity Fair in which she slammed the public for turning the trial into what she called "courtroom porn."
She wrote:
"Unless you’re a troglodyte, you’ve been exposed to something about the Depp v Heard trial in the past few weeks. Like many, I have averted my eyes—with guilty fascination—even as I’ve kept track of the defamation conflagration."
She then went on to relate the situation back to her own experiences.
“As we all do nowadays, we watch or we read or we media-graze about these private turned public spectacles in bits and bytes, fearing that the sheer rancor and vulgarity might leave a kind of virtual stench—or, in my case, worrying that prolonged viewing might be triggering. (Don’t know what I’m talking about? Google: 1998.)"
Lewinsky was just a 22 year-old White House intern when her affair with President Clinton became public.
After the story broke, she fell under fire by the public and media alike and was the victim of widespread bullying and slut-shaming.
Lewinsky also scolded fans for creating and circulating misogynistic jokes and memes about Heard.
She wrote:
“I wasn’t surprised that the memes about Amber Heard far outnumbered those about Johnny Depp."
“I wasn’t surprised that the cruel and vitriolic discourse was predominantly aimed at the woman.”
She continued:
“[It] would be sad enough if it just impacted the personal lives of Depp, Heard, and their loved ones. It would be sad enough even if we just considered how it has impacted domestic violence survivors or those who have sought strength in the #MeToo movement."
“However, it’s the larger implications for our culture that concern me the most: the ways we have stoked the flames of misogyny and, separately, the celebrity circus."
“It’s not just the two individuals and how you feel about them or this situation; it’s the cultural collateral damage.”
Some Twitter users are backing Lewinsky up...
\u201c@VanityFair @MonicaLewinsky amber heard getting the same vilification by society that monica lewinsky was subjected to in the 90s.\u201d— VANITY FAIR (@VANITY FAIR) 1654016405
\u201c@VanityFair @MonicaLewinsky No matter the verdict, the entire social environment has been extremely personally nasty towards Amber Heard, Depp's lawyers were slyly obnoxious in their questioning and passing personal comments, neither Amber's lawyers nor the judge took them to task, which is reprehensible.\u201d— VANITY FAIR (@VANITY FAIR) 1654016405
\u201c@VanityFair @IvanaE @MonicaLewinsky It\u2019s johnny depp that wanted this televised. It\u2019s his fault and most of you played along. It was his way to abuse her further.\u201d— VANITY FAIR (@VANITY FAIR) 1654016405
\u201c@VanityFair @MonicaLewinsky I actually think that's the best thing I have seen written so far. It's fair, intelligent and thought-provoking. Even if you don't agree with it on every level, it deserves its place and fights its corner with aplomb.\u201d— VANITY FAIR (@VANITY FAIR) 1654016405
\u201cThis morning I really thought that this is the Monica Lewinsky of our era and so many of you failed\u201d— \u2661 Juju \u2661 (@\u2661 Juju \u2661) 1654103897
...while others disagreed.
\u201c@VanityFair @MonicaLewinsky Sorry, but no. People wouldn\u2019t be saying this if the male in this situation had been exposed as an abuser. It\u2019s only because Amber has been exposed that you\u2019re all feeling sorry for her. It was a god send that the trial was televised because the media haven\u2019t been able to spin it\u201d— VANITY FAIR (@VANITY FAIR) 1654016405
\u201c@VanityFair @MonicaLewinsky @MonicaLewinsky I love you and I understand why you'd feel this way. If I knew nothing about this case and only saw the memes etc, it would seem like everyone was descending upon this poor woman for no reason, and I would be outraged. But this isn't the case here. This is (cont.)\u201d— VANITY FAIR (@VANITY FAIR) 1654016405
\u201c@VanityFair @MonicaLewinsky Let me summarize what this article SHOULD have reported. \u201cBecause the trial was televised, people were able to determine Ms Heard had been the real abuser all along.\u201d #JusticeForJohnnyDepp\u201d— VANITY FAIR (@VANITY FAIR) 1654016405
\u201cFor 6 years the press has given a platform to a woman who is a perpetrator and was already arrested for DV in 2009. Presenting herself as a victim.The press has supported this false narrative and portrayed Depp as a monster. And now someone wonders why people are outraged?\u201d— ALLYANA Romero E.C.B \ud83c\udf10*\ufe0f\u20e3 (@ALLYANA Romero E.C.B \ud83c\udf10*\ufe0f\u20e3) 1654071322
\u201cAmber is guilty. I am a survivor and will say what ever I need to say about the lying abusing narcissist #AmberHeardDeservesPrison\u201d— jayfay NO E on my Fay. (@jayfay NO E on my Fay.) 1654053787
Lewinsky ended her piece by stating that the result of the trial wasn't important when the public turned the trial into a "misogynistic circus."
She wrote:
“No matter whom the jury’s verdict favours…we are guilty."