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Julia Fox claims Amber Heard was not ‘powerful’ enough to abuse Johnny Depp, trolls say ‘nonsense’

'You need to have power to be able to abuse it. She was 25,' Fox's comment read

Johnny Depp sued Amber Heard for $50 million after she implied in a 2018 Washington Post op-ed that he assaulted her. Despite the fact that she did not mention his name, he argues that her charges have harmed his potential to work. The high-profile lawsuit has received tremendous attention from fans and celebrities, including Chris Rock and Depp's ex-fiancee Jennifer Grey, as court hearings in the defamation trial resume following a week-long hiatus.

The 'Uncut Gems' actress, Julia Fox has now spoken up about the lawsuit. Fox states that Heard could not have abused Depp since she was not in a position of physical or financial power over him in what seems to be an Instagram comment made under a social media photo on 14 May. "Wrong. She never had the power in the relationship to be abusive to him," Fox's comment read. "Did she hit him? Yes. Was it abuse? No. You need to have power to be able to abuse it. She was 25. He clearly was always way more powerful including physically and financially."

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After one Twitter user published a screenshot from the Instagram picture, the comment drew diverse comments online. Aubrey O'Day, a singer-songwriter, strongly disagreed with Fox's viewpoint, calling it a "trash take," she wrote, "trash take from Julia Fox. plenty of broke, short, skinny, non-famous people have abused their partner. Abuse is simply cruel and violent treatment of a person.. power not being a necessary factor. less powerful ppl abuse their more powerful partner out of jealousy all the time."

Taylor Lorenz, a journalist, concurred with Fox's assertion that abuse and power are linked, adding that Heard "didn't have the power" in her relationship with Depp. "I don’t think a lot of ppl don’t understand what abusive relationships actually look like. Julia Fox put it well tbh," she tweeted. 

One user chastised Fox for being so open about Heard's abuse not countable because of the power play wrote, "Julia Fox just straight-up saying a woman beating her husband isn't abuse, because Power. I mean I know a lot of Amber Heard stans THINK that, but they're usually not that obvious."

This other user who agreed with Fox's viewpoint wrote, "Julia Fox is right. Domestic abuse is executed with violence but its foundation is power. Johnny Depp was a huge, rich and POWERFUL actor. Amber Heard was/is not. From the events of this trial, what is she really getting out of this? She asked for it be private." One user used the logic with Kim and Pete and wrote, "if Pete Davidson (27) starts beating on Kim Kardashian (42)…. Being that she as more money and 'power', he wouldn’t be abusive right?. Cuz abuse is about who is older and richer right?."

Another person, who called it complete "nonsense", wrote, "Then why didn’t she keep it private instead of writing an article detailing her 'abuse.' NOW she wants it private, because she’s being exposed as a liar. This 'power' shit is nonsense. If you assault your spouse, you’re an abuser. Her genitalia doesn’t excuse her actions."

Many people, however, considered that the remark exacerbated a stigma around male domestic abuse survivors. Social media users believed that saying Depp was more powerful in the relationship undermined his charges of domestic violence. One user who believes that power has nothing to do with abuse wrote, "I just need to point out that her use of “physical strength” as evidence that Johnny couldn’t have been abused is a common stigma in abuse cases but especially when it comes to male victims. Domestic violence is NOT about size or strength, it’s about control."

Another user wrote, "This is why men don’t come forward when abused. What a bad take."

Julia Fox expressed her support for Amber Heard on social media after the model wrote another Instagram comment claiming that she is "so in love" with Heard and that the defamation lawsuit is a "sick way of still controlling her life".