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'Hypocritical' ACLU under fire for helping Amber Heard pen defamatory Washington Post op-ed

'The ACLU really does deserve a really a front row seat in terms of blame. You know, they played a critical role,' said legal scholar Jonathan Turley

The Johnny Depp v Amber Heard defamation lawsuit hasn’t just tarnished the actors' reputation with allegations but has also brought the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) into the picture. It has been claimed that there is a bizarre involvement of the union.

A Virginia jury found Amber Heard to be responsible for defaming the ‘Pirates of the Caribbean’ with an op-ed where she tagged herself as a victim of domestic violence. As per the reports by Insider, the testimony and email records produced at the trial demonstrated that the first draft of the Washington Post op-ed was ghost-written by the staffers at ACLU.

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"The ACLU really does deserve a really a front row seat in terms of blame. You know, they played a critical role," said legal scholar Jonathan Turley, an attorney and professor at George Washington University Law School, in an interview with Fox News host Sean Hannity.

Pointing out the role of ACLU earlier, the legal scholar tweeted by saying, “Depp walks away with a far greater victory in the rejection of Heard's allegations. Another loser in this case is the ACLU, which helped write the defamatory column. This will magnify criticism of the role of the ACLU. They helped draft a defamatory statement.”

Following the defamation trial coming into being, the ACLU also put up a statement on May 18 on their official website confirming that they did not write the op-ed piece. It mentioned, “During the current defamation lawsuit between Johnny Depp and Amber Heard, some have claimed that the ACLU made Ms. Heard an ambassador for gender justice and wrote an op-ed on her behalf in exchange for her pledge to donate money to the ACLU. This is wrong. We do not write op-eds or offer ambassadorships in exchange for donations. Period. Becoming an ACLU Artist Ambassador is entirely voluntary; it is a favor to the ACLU, not vice versa.

In 2016, Ms. Heard pledged to donate $3.5 million over 10 years to the ACLU. Two years later, in 2018, the ACLU invited Ms. Heard to become an ambassador and to work with us on an op-ed to bring attention to the issue of sexual assault and domestic violence issues; she agreed. Through her ambassadorship, Ms. Heard supported our advocacy for gender justice issues, a cause that has long been central to our mission at least since Ruth Bader Ginsburg headed the ACLU’s Women’s Rights Project."

ACLU gets bashed by netizens

Post the news of the involvement of ACLU in the op-ed, the internet got flooded with messages like, "So someone should be allowed to call you a rapist and abuser formally, in writing and call it protected speech? Put the shoe on your own foot and think about that very carefully. EVERYONE knew who she was talking about the emails with ACLU prove intention," "Her witness testimony didn't collaborate and you saw ACLU testimony how corrupt it was and there alot of more evidence I can't quote everything but I want to say that you have to be very to believe her just watch the trial she herself admitted that the op ed was about depp."

Another user wrote, "I used to be a supporter of ACLU but they've changed." Tagging the union as a hypocrite, a user said, "the ACLU was exposed as being money hungry and hypocritical. Also on the woke train. The ACLU used to care about innocent until proven guilty. instead they suggested he be called a rapist without even asking his side of the story. Shameful!"

Disclaimer: This article contains remarks made on the Internet by individual people and organizations. MEAWW cannot confirm them independently and does not support claims or opinions being made online.