Chris Rock’s Amber Heard Comments Are Totally Out of Line
Nearly everyone following the proceedings has an opinion on the Johnny Depp vs. Amber Heard trial. The courtroom fight between two famous actors has captivated movie fans and fellow Hollywood stars. That includes comedian Chris Rock, who is familiar with public spats (his stems from Will Smith’s Oscars slap). Rock’s Heard comments, however, badly miss the mark.
Chris Rock: ‘Believe all women except Amber Heard’
Rock’s Jada Pinkett-Smith joke at the Academy Awards resulted in Will Smith slapping him. The comedian mocked her shaved head with a G.I. Jane reference, which was unnecessary but not overly critical. Rock’s Heard comments took a different approach.
Rock discussed the Smith incident and also took a shot at Heard during his first U.K. appearance since the Oscars slap, as the Daily Mail reported:
“Believe all women, believe all women except Amber Heard. What the f*** is she on? She s*** in his bed! She’s fine, but she’s not s***ting fine. She s*** in his bed!”
Chris Rock
“Once you s*** in someone’s bed, you just guilty of everything,” Rock added in his May 12 set, per the Daily Mail. “What the f*** is going on there? Wow. And they had a relationship after that.”
Rock is free to express his opinion, of course, but he totally missed the mark with his Heard commentary.
Rock’s Heard comments are way off base
Rock’s outrage at someone using a shared bed as a toilet is understandable. Questioning how a relationship continued after an incident like that is valid. But Rock was way off the mark with the rest of his comments about Heard.
Saying someone is “guilty of everything” because of one ill-advised (and regrettable) act is foolish and asinine. What would Rock say about the person arrested outside one of his shows in March 2022 (via MassLive)? Is that person guilty of everything because of that one infraction? That’s a dangerous double-standard to live by.
Rock’s comment about her being “on something” is dangerous speculation. Defecating on a bed is uncommon, yes, but implying drugs fueled the act is irresponsible. When emotions reach peak level, people do out-of-the-ordinary things. Rock should know. He made one joke about Pinkett-Smith and experienced Will Smith’s rage.
Perhaps the worst part of Rock’s comments was how he singled out Heard. According to the Calgary Sun, he said all women who are victims of abuse deserve to be believed. Then he singled out Heard.
He can’t have it both ways. We should listen to and believe every woman who has been abused. There are no qualifiers. Yes, Heard and Depp had a tumultuous relationship. Yes, Heard used a mattress as a toilet. And some of Heard’s testimony during the defamation trial has appeared disingenuous, according to a body language expert. None of that means we shouldn’t believe her abuse allegations until and they’re proven false.
Others side against Heard, too
The Depp vs. Heard trial is happening in two venues — the courtroom and the court of public opinion. The judge and jurors will decide the “winner” (if there is one in a situation like this) in the former. Rock and others are weighing in with their thoughts in the latter.
Comedian Bill Burr is firmly Team Johnny. During an episode of his podcast, he called for everyone who trashed Depp to issue a public apology if he emerges from the courtroom as the winner. And as of May 16, 2022, more than four million people had signed a public petition for Heard to be removed from Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom, per Yahoo.
Rock, Aquaman fans, and Bill Burr back Depp, but Rock’s Heard comments — implied drug use, “guilty of everything,” and that we should believe all abused women except Heard — are out of line.
How to get help: In the U.S., call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233 or text START to 88788.
