Courtney Love on Johnny Depp vs. Amber Heard Trial: ‘We Should All Stop Having Fun With Schadenfreude’
After sharing stories in support of her friend Johnny Depp, rocker Courtney Love said she wants to stay out of the propaganda machine that the Johnny Depp vs. Amber Heard trial has become. And she hopes everyone else might do the same.
Fans and the media have been criticized for vocally taking sides and turning the trial into fodder. Love made statements about some important moments in her life when Depp actually saved her life. Or when he had gone out of his way to make accommodations for her daughter Frances Bean Cobain. She later said she didn’t realize how public those statements would have been shared.
Courtney Love said everyone should back down from supporting the circus
At the end of a lengthy statement about her remarks, Love reflected on what she posted but emphasized a message she hoped her original comments conveyed. “The only important takeaway, of what was posted, is that I expressed that we should all stop having ‘fun with schadenfreude (look it up: ‘Delight in another’s downfall’),” she wrote on Instagram.
She added, “Show sincere empathy for both parties. If I hurt anyone, please accept my amends.”
Love’s friend shared a series of videos of Love recalling when Depp gave her CPR at his club the Viper Room (via People). “Johnny, when I was on crack and Frances was having to suffer through that with all these social workers, wrote her a four-page letter that she’s never showed me, on her 13th birthday,” she remarked in the video shared on Jessica Reed Kraus’s Instagram account. She added that Depp always made sure Cobain had a special seat at Pirates of the Caribbean premieres.
Courtney Love never made disparaging comments about Amber Heard
Love wanted to make it clear that Kraus did not share the videos out of malice. “To be clear, most of what @houseinhabit posted was signed off by me. One of the stories posted was a misunderstanding from dms. She did nothing shady. & yes. Bots too. But oh well whatever. Thanks for support,” Love wrote in the comments of her post.
But she felt as though her remarks were inappropriate. And Love apologized for her comments made about Depp during the trial. Depp is currently suing ex-wife Amber Heard for defamation after her 2020 op-ed about being abused caused him to lose jobs and be branded as a “wife-beater.” Heard never named Depp specifically in her op-ed.
And for her part, Love never made disparaging remarks about Heard. She even said she understands what it’s like having “been the most-hated woman in America” and has “a lot of empathy for what that must feel like” for Heard.
She wanted to show support for Johnny Depp – the way others supported her
While Love apologized for making any comments, she said her friends stood by her side when she too was publicly defamed. Love was at the center of speculation after her husband Kurt Cobain died. “What about the times I’ve been publicly defamed? My true friends have done so much to help me during these public ritual systemic humiliations?” she asked.
Adding, “I want to show neutral support for a friend. I don’t want to bully. I’ve been bullied enough. I did not want to express my own bias / internalized misogyny. (Do give me a break on that one. Look at my JOB! I’m working on it) I want nothing to do with contributing more online bullying to someone enduring being bullied like no one ever has been online. Ever.”
