Republic of Iraq

Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research

Wasit University
College of Education for Human Sciences
Department of English

A Critical Discourse Analysis of the Depp-Heard Trial in

Selected British and American Newspapers

A Thesis

Submitted to the Council of the College of Education for Human Sciences,

Wasit University, in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree

of Master of Education in English Language and Linguistics

By
Kawther Khalid Ibrahim
Supervised by
Asst. Prof. Mohammed Nasser Abdulsada

2023 A.D. 1445 A.H.

 i

To

My family with love and gratitude

 ii

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

First of all, thanks and praise go to Almighty Allah for granting me patience
and ability to accomplish this work.

I would like to thank the helpful and humble supervisor Asst. Prof.
Mohammed Nasser Abdulsada for his help, support, and patience. I am grateful for
his encouragement, attention, and care while working on this thesis.

I am profoundly thankful to all the academic staff of the M.A. studies at the
Department of English, College of Education for Human Sciences, Wasit
University, including the head of the department Asst. Prof. Thamir Az-Zubaidy
(Ph.D.), Prof. Ali Muhsin G. Al Majdawi (Ph.D.), Prof. Hashim Al-Husseini
(Ph.D.), Prof. Mazin J.M. Al-Hilu (Ph.D.), Prof. Inas Naji Kadim (Ph.D.),
Asst.Prof. Khalida H. Al-Ghezzey (Ph.D.), Prof. Qasim M.D. Al-Ebadi (Ph.D.),
and Asst. Prof. Faris Kadhim T. Al-Attabi (Ph.D.). Their efforts contributed to my
proficiency and achievement.

I also thank my colleagues who helped me in one way or another while

carrying out this study.
 iii

TABLE OF CONTENTS

SUBJECT

LIST OF ABBRIVATIONS -------------------------------------------------------------viii

ABSTRACT ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ix

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1. 0. Background to the study------------------------------------------------------------ 1

1. 1. Statement of the Problem ---------------------------------------------------------- 2

1. 2. Research Objectives ---------------------------------------------------------------- 3

1. 3. Research Questions ----------------------------------------------------------------- 3

1. 4. Limits ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 4

1. 5. Significance --------------------------------------------------------------------------- 4

1. 6. Organization--------------------------------------------------------------------------- 5

CHAPTER TWO

THEORETICAL BACKGROUND

2. 0. Introductory Remarks ----------------------------------------------------------------6

2. 1. Critical Discourse Analysis: An Overview----------------------------------------6

2. 2. Approaches of Critical Discourse Analysis--------------------------------------9

2. 2.1. van Dijk’s Approach-------------------------------------------------------9

 iv

2. 2. 2. Fairclough’s Approach---------------------------------------------------12

2. 3. Johnny Depp’s Life and Career----------------------------------------------------14

2. 4. Amber Heard’s Life and Career---------------------------------------------------15

2. 5. The Trials: An Overview-----------------------------------------------------------15

2. 5. 1. Types of Trials-----------------------------------------------------------16

2. 5. 1. 1. Jury Trials ------------------------ ------- --------------- --16

2. 5. 1. 2. Bench Trials --------------------------------------------------------16

2. 5. 2. Types of Cases-----------------------------------------------------------16

2. 5. 2. 1. Criminal Cases ----------------------------------------------------16

2. 5. 2. 2. Civil Cases --------------------------------------------------------16

2. 5. 2.1. Types of Civil Cases-----------------------------------------------16

2. 5. 2. 2. Stages in a Civil Case---------------------------------------------17

2. 5. 3. The Defamation Lawsuit-------------------------------------------------18

2. 5. 3. 1. The Depp vs. Heard Defamation Trial------------------------------19

2. 7. Newspapers-------------------------------------------------------------------------21

2. 7.1. The Role of Newspapers-------------------------------------------------22

2. 8. Related Studies---------------------------------------------------------------------23
 v

CHAPTER THREE

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

3. 0. Introduction---------------------------------------------------------------------------28

3. 1. Research Design----------------------------------------------------------------------28

3. 2. Data Collection and Selection------------------------------------------------------29

3. 3. Sources of Data-----------------------------------------------------------------------30

3. 4. The Model of Study------------------------------------------------------------------32

3. 4.1. van Dijk’s Socio-cognitive Approach-------------------------------------32

3. 4. 2. Fairclough’s Three-dimensional Approach------------------------------35

3. 5. Justification of the Model Selection------------------------------------------------38

3. 6. Procedures of Data Analysis--------------------------------------------------------38

CHAPTER FOUR

DATA ANALYSIS

4. 0. Introduction--------------------------------------------------------------------------41

4. 1. The Guardian------------------------------------------------------------------------41

4. 1. 1. Article One-----------------------------------------------------------------41

4.1. 2. Article Two-----------------------------------------------------------------49

4. 2. The Daily Telegraph--------------------------------------------------------------57

4. 2. 1. Article One----------------------------------------------------------------57
 vi

4. 2. 2. Article Two---------------------------------------------------------------62

4. 3. The New York Times-------------------------------------------------------------66

4. 3. 1. Article One----------------------------------------------------------------66

4.3.2. Article Two-----------------------------------------------------------------71

4. 4. The Washington Post-------------------------------------------------------------77

4. 4. 1. Article One----------------------------------------------------------------77

4. 4. 2. Article Two---------------------------------------------------------------184

CHAPTER FIVE

CONCLUSIONS AND SUGGESTIONS FOR FURTHER STUDIES

5. 0. Introduction------------------------------------------------------------------------93

5. 1. Findings of Research Question 1------------------------------------------------93

5. 1. 1. The Guardian-------------------------------------------------------------93

5.1.2. The Daily Telegraph------------------------------------------------------94

5.1.3. The New York Times----------------------------------------------------96

5.1.4. The Washington Post-----------------------------------------------------97

5. 2. Findings of Research Question 2------------------------------------------------98

5. 2. 1. The Guardian-------------------------------------------------------------98

5. 2. 2. The Daily Telegraph----------------------------------------------------98

5. 2. 3. The New York Times---------------------------------------------------99

 vii

5. 2. 4. The Washington Post----------------------------------------------------100

5. 3. Finding of Research Question 3 ------------------------------------------------100

5. 4. Recommendations -----------------------------------------------------------------101

5. 5. Suggestions for Further Studies -------------------------------------------------101

References --------------------------------------------------------------------------------103

Appendices -------------------------------------------------------------------------------114

Arabic Abstract ---------------------------------------------------------------------------138

 viii

LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS

CDA --------------------------------------------------------- Critical Discourse Analysis

CL ----------------------------------------------------------------- Critical Linguistics

DA----------------------------------------------------------------- Discourse Analysis

EM------------------------------------------------------------------- Episodic Memory

LTM ----------------------------------------------------------------- Long-Term Memory

SCA --------------------------------------------------------- Socio-cognitive Approach

SFL-----------------------------------------------------Systemic Functional Linguistics

SM --------------------------------------------------------------------Semantic Memory

STM --------------------------------------------------------------- Short-Term Memory

UK---------------------------------------------------------------------- United Kingdom

US ------------------------------------------------------------------------- United States

WM ---------------------------------------------------------------- Working Memory

 ix

ABSTRACT

This study investigates, from a critical discourse analysis perspective, the

newspaper coverage of Johnny Depp’s defamation trial, the American Hollywood
celebrity, against his ex-wife Amber Heard in selected international English-
speaking newspapers. As the language used in newspapers differs from the
language used in ordinary life and incorporates a variety of linguistic tricks and
hidden ideologies, newspapers generally may show power and influence via the
language they employ. As a result, this research tries to identify the discourse
structures that echo the editors’ involvement in handling this topic. In addition, it
reveals the hidden ideologies representing the trial and the personalities of Depp
and Heard in selected newspapers. The study draws on qualitative analysis by
applying an eclectic model which mixes van Dijk’s Socio-cognitive Approach
(2014) and Fairclough’s Three-dimensional Approach (2015). Eight articles from
four international newspapers; Two British newspapers “The Guardian” and “The
Daily Telegraph”, and two American newspapers “New York Times” and
"Washington Post" have been chosen. The study finds that these newspapers had
different representations. While the British newspapers focused more on the
reporting of this trial, the American newspapers focused on the agents involved in
this trial. The study, also, bridges the link between linguistic features and
ideological interpretations in the production of media discourse. In print, online, or
visual media, celebrities might be scandalized or de-scandalized following certain
events, acts, troubles, or stances. In this respect, newspaper editors and columnists
act like discourse producers who report these celebrity-related events to readers, a
reporting that is often encompassed with hidden viewpoints and attitudes.
 1

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1. 0. Background

There have always been famous people in the world and, “It has often been
said that movie stars are the royalty of America” (Gabler, 1998, p.174). However,
it seems that in the 21st century, people are more interested in and fascinated by
celebrities. Schopenhauer (1851) wrote, “Riches, one may say, are like seawater:
the more you drink, the thirstier you become; and the same is true of fame” (p. 37).
Besides, sales of magazines dealing primarily with celebrity news stories
incredibly increased in celebrities appearing on almost half of all American
magazine covers during 2004 (McCafferty, 2005).
One of the issues that aroused public opinion and became rich material for
the media is the trial of Johnny Depp, the world’s biggest film star, against his ex-
wife actress Amber Heard.
Depp filed a defamation suit, in April 2022, for $50 million in damages over
a 2018 opinion editorial written by Heard in The Washington Post, in which she
claimed she had become a “public figure representing domestic abuse” While he
was never specifically addressed in the essay, according to his lawyers, he was
impliedly referenced in it (Madani, et al., 2022). The six-week defamation trial has
captivated the hearts of people all over the world and became a topical issue in
social media and international and local newspapers.
While doing critical discourse analysis, researchers often look at texts that
address societal problems and topics to identify patterns of dominance. Those who
use this technique want to know how these societal issues are depicted, played out,
and reproduced in texts (van Dijk, 1995). As media elites and journalists control
 2

mass media discourses and decide what news subjects will be covered, the
necessity for such an analysis, particularly with mediated texts, is critical. Texts
determine how we interpret and solve societal problems (Gamson, et al., 1992;
Gans, 1979; van Dijk, 1995).
In the media, certain conversations are emphasized, which puts others to the
margins. With this knowledge, ideological assumptions are implied and dominate
the dialogue. In essence, speech maintains current social structures in addition to
reflecting society (Teo, 2000).
This study followed critical discourse analysis, van Dijk’s Socio-cognitive
Approach (2014) and Fairclough’s Three-dimensional Approach (2015), as tools to
analyze eight articles from four online international British and American
newspapers in their reporting of the Depp vs. Heard trial.
1. 1. Statement of the Problem

Newspapers are undoubtedly a fantastic medium for presenting ideas,

demonstrating a person's fortitude, and influencing people. Indeed, there always
appears to be a hidden significance behind what people say and write. Newspapers
also exercise authority in society, since society is affected by media and news
because they create public opinion. Moreover, they have the power to change
people's points of view to hate or sympathize with a specific person or subgroup.
As stated by Fairclough (1995a) “The mass media has the power to influence
knowledge, beliefs, values, social relations, and social identities” Without a doubt,
the language employed contributes to the effectiveness of media influence and
power in general and newspapers in particular since it covers ideology. So, it is
important to reveal these hidden ideas.

The current study explores first, how the text structures of the newspaper
articles. Second, the role of media and its effect on society concerning the Depp vs.
 3

Heard defamation trial and how the newspaper writers might affect and change the
public opinion of people to sympathize with Depp rather than Heard. Third, it
examines whether the media has any effect on the judges in their verdicts.
Moreover, to uncover the hidden ideologies and power of the text.

1. 2. Objectives

The present study aims at:

1. Identifying the discourse structures used by British and American newspapers in

reporting the Depp-Heard trial.

2. Highlighting the ideologies that reflected the Depp-Heard trial in British and
American newspapers.

3. Comparing the British and American newspapers in covering the Depp-Heard

trial.

1. 3. Research Questions

This study is set to answer the following questions:

1. What are the discourse structures used in the British newspapers and American
newspapers in reporting the Depp-Heard trial?

2. What ideological representations have been used by these newspapers to

represent both Depp and Heard?

3. How far were these newspapers different and similar in covering this trial?
 4

1. 4. Limits

This study is concerned with the analysis of eight articles from four global
leading British and American newspapers. The British newspapers are the Daily
Telegraph and The Guardian, and the American newspapers are the Washington
Post and The New York Times. The timeline coverage of these articles is May
(initiating the trial sessions), and June (pronouncing the verdicts of this trial). Two
critical discourse analysis models, van Dijk’s Socio-cognitive Approach (2014)
and Fairclough’s Three-dimensional Approach (2015), after being merged into a
single tool, have been followed to analyze data.

1. 5. Significance

This study could be significant for discourse analysts and linguists,

especially early-career researchers working on media, communication, and
celebrity issues. It demonstrates how discourse analysis can investigate the media
coverage of public events. Newspaper headlines and other leading news in on
specific interests reflect the role and importance of language as a manipulator of
feelings and emotions as these news touches on issues favoured by many readers
and addressees. The present study is noteworthy since it presents the ideological
analysis as a means to interpret the text to show the hidden ideologies in
newspapers. This study also presents an opportunity for English language learners
to analyse the media discourse and apply certain analytical tools to other types of
discourse. This study, additionally, highlights the importance of legal context in
discourse and how this context can reach insights concerning the use of legal
terminology, and the analysis of legal procedures from a linguistic perspective.
 5

1. 6. Organization

This study consists of five chapters. Chapter One introduces a background to

the study, the statement of the problem, the objectives of the study, research
questions, limits, as well as the significance of the study. The second chapter
presents a theoretical background of the study, including the definition of key
themes, the approaches of analysis, the role of media in the development of public
issues, a preview of certain legal procedures, the origins of the Depp-Heard
dispute, the life and career of both Johnny Depp and Amber Heard, and certain
previous studies related to this study.

The third chapter consists of the research design, data collection, source of
the corpus, the criteria of data collection, the theoretical framework, and
procedures of data analysis. The fourth chapter analyses the data qualitatively.
Finally, the fifth chapter concerns the findings of research questions,
recommendations, and suggestions for future studies.
 6

CHAPTER TWO

THEORETICAL BACKGROUND

2. 0. Introductory Remarks

This chapter presents an overview of the theoretical components of this

research, which helps readers understand what the study is about. The chapter
presents an introduction to critical discourse analysis, its definitions, aims,
principles, and approaches. It presents some of the most influential frameworks in
the domain of critical discourse analysis as a method of research. These
frameworks were adopted by scholars who are regarded as the founders of this
field including van Dijk, Fairclough, and others. It also tackles Johnny Depp and
his ex-wife Amber Heard’s lives and careers. It explains Depp’s defamation trial
against Heard. This chapter also focuses on newspapers discourse and ends with a
brief explanation of some previous studies and their main findings.

2. 1. Critical Discourse Analysis: An Overview

It is crucial to understand the distinction between text and discourse before

detailing the specifics of critical discourse analysis (henceforth CDA) since the
latter is a keyword in the term. A specific statement, piece of writing, or image is
referred to as "text" but "discourse" is a body of information and a space that
distinguishes individual expression. According to Michel Foucault (1973),
language use is constrained by rules and norms that limit people's understanding of
the world and its meanings. Hence, discourse is a realm that shapes social
interactions, behaviours, and attitudes (Littlejohn & Foss, 2009).

The term "critical" distinguishes this area of analysis (CDA) from other
discourse analysis methodologies. This phrase means that it shows the connections
 7

and factors that are hidden outside of conversation (Fairclough, 1995). Moreover,
''critical'' is used in the special sense of aiming to show up connections that may be
hidden from people such as the connections between language, power, and
ideology'' (Fairclough, 2001, p. 5, as cited in Abdulsada, 2017).

CDA is important because it adopts overt attitudes toward the examination

of hidden beliefs that transcend discourse (Rogers, 2011). According to a claim,
CDA is a classical linguistic approach that combines linguistics, social science, and
critical analysis into one analytical phenomenon (Chouliaraki & Fairclough, 2007).

The term CDA is now more specifically used to refer to academics' use of
the broader discursive unit of text as the basic unit of communication and their
critical linguistic approach (Wodak & Meyer, 2001).

Similar research has shown that CDA existed before the advent of critical
analysis. An interdisciplinary method called CDA looks at issues including how
and why social interaction created the textual structure (Wiluna, 2018).
Widdowson (2007) describes CDA as an approach that is concerned with how
language is used (and abused) to advance ideologies, social beliefs, and
sociopolitical power.

The goal of CDA is to illuminate the connections among language, society,

ideology, power, values, and viewpoints (van Dijk, 2008). CDA is used to analyze
texts to determine whether "structures, techniques, or other aspects of a text,
discourse, verbal contact, or communication events play a part in the development
or replication of unequal power relations" (van Dijk, 1993).

van Dijk claimed that CDA is "a complicated area that analyzes how social-
power abuse and inequality are enacted, perpetuated, legitimized, and resisted via
 8

text and conversation in the social and political environment" (as mentioned by
Tannen et al., 2015, p. 466).

In the same vein, Wodak and Meyer (2009) underlined that CDA is
interdisciplinary and that its origins are found in pragmatics and applied
linguistics, as well as in linguistics, philosophy, rhetoric, anthropology, socio-
psychology, cognitive science, sociolinguistics, and literary studies. Yet, the
CDA's multidisciplinary aspect aids linguists and enables them to investigate the
connections between the texts and their surroundings, between language and
power, as well as between discursive systems and social structures (Zaher, 2009).

According to Paltridge (2012), CDA is used to investigate the relationship

between the language that is employed and various contexts, such as the political
and social ones in which it occurs. Moreover, CDA is used to examine how the text
is created and reflects factors like ideology, identity, gender, cultural diversity, and
ethnicity. It also deals with describing spoken or written texts concerning the
context in which they exist (as cited in Alhusseini, 2020).

van Dijk (2003) believed that CDA research must meet certain criteria to
achieve its goals.

1. To effectively examine social problems or topics, CDA work is often inter or

transdisciplinary and focuses primarily on the connections between discourse and
society.

2. CDA is not a school, area, or sub-discipline of discourse analysis; rather, it is an

openly critical approach, perspective, or attitude towards the study of text and
speech.
 9

3. CDA focuses on (group) relations of power, dominance, and inequality, as well

as how they are perpetuated or contested by members of social groups via text and
speech.

4. Most of the work in CDA focuses on the underlying beliefs that play a role in
the perpetuation of domination or inequality or in opposition to it.

Blommaert (2005) said that CDA analysts seek to reveal injustices in

positions of authority, inspire action to correct societal blunders, and give voice to
the voiceless. In addition, critical discourse analysts were called upon to address
several pressing issues in the 1990s, including widespread inequality, injustice, and
oppression. Researchers nowadays are putting increased emphasis on issues related
to immigrants, refugees, and underrepresented groups (van Dijk, 1993).

2. 2. Approaches of CDA

Several well-known methods have been developed in the field of CDA, such
as those of Norman Fairclough, Teun van Dijk, and Ruth Wodak. Other related
methods include social semiotics and multimodality discourse, discourse social
psychology, political debate analysis, and systemic-functional linguistics
(Blommaert & Bulcaen, 2000). The interrelated nature of language, culture,
society, and politics is shown by the variety of methods used to create CDA
(Ahmadvand, 2010).

2. 2. 1. van Dijk’s Approach

van Dijk is a very important and well-known scholar in CDA. His method,
known as the "Socio-cognitive Approach" established links between textual,
cognitive, and social frameworks. Ideology, knowledge, action, attitude, and social
structure are just a few of the key concepts important to social cognition and
 10

critical discourse analysis that are introduced in the socio-cognitive paradigm.

discourse, cognition, and society form a triangle at the heart of the socio-cognitive
framework:

Figure 2.1

Triangle of ‘Socio-cognitive Approach (adopted from Hart, 2010, p. 15).

Social cognition

(Cognitive Structure)

Social structure textual structure

The triangle shows how social and textual structures are connected
throughout social cognition, and how this connection is shown through the use of
arrows (Hart, 2010). The SCA approach developed by van Dijk tried to link
linguistics with cognitive ideas and methods. While speaking, members of one
group often portray themselves and their fellow members favourably, whereas
members of other groups frequently do the opposite (Al Khazraji, 2018).

van Dijk made a distinction between social and personal cognition.

Individuals make and comprehend language in personal cognition. Social sharing
of the discourse among group members was referred to as social cognition. The
 11

"system of mental representations and processes of group members" was referred

to as social cognition (Hart, 2010, p.15).

According to van Dijk (2014), the interaction between social structures and
discourse structures is greatly influenced by social and individual cognition. Micro
and macro contexts are two different types. The macro-context, on the one hand,
refers to the political, cultural, and social framework in which a communication
event takes place. The micro-context, on the other hand, indicates the features of
the actual situation and engagement in a communicative event.

According to van Dijk (2014), the term "cognition" refers to mental

constructs including beliefs, objectives, and personal and social cognition. He
viewed micro-context as a kind of mental model and saw it as a crucial component
of the socio-cognitive model. Event and context models are the two categories of
mental models. van Dijk (2006b) claimed that the fundamental tenet of
"Ideological Square" is that speaking about others involves both positive self-
representation or bragging and negative other-representation or denigration.

According to van Dijk (1993, p. 264), strong speakers demonstrate their

influence in discourse using the discursive structures and strategies necessary to
persuade and influence their listeners. In both the creation and interpretation of
discourse, knowledge is crucial.

van Dijk (1997) focused on the many linguistics ways that politicians might
communicate their favourable and unfavourable attributes at various linguistic
levels. Sentence analysis is examined at the syntactic level, lexical style is
examined at the semantic level, and rhetorical devices like parallelism, repetition,
rhyme, metaphor, exaggeration, and so on are examined at the rhetorical level. The
pragmatic level is concerned with verbal behaviours that influence interpersonal
 12

communication. As a result, van Dijk’s SCA approach method heavily relies on

language aspects, such as grammatical, pragmatic, interactional, stylistic,
rhetorical, semiotic, and narrative ones (van Dijk, 2006a).

In conclusion, van Dijk contended that CDA should not confine itself to a
study of the interaction between discourse and social structure but rather that
language use and discourse always assume the arbitrary mental models, goals, and
general social representations (knowledge, attitudes, ideologies, norms, and values)
of the language users. In other words, the three aspects of the study of discourse
are cognition, discourse, and language. The three-part discourse-cognitive-society
model of ideology that supports van Dijk's SCA is shown in Figure 1. As is seen
from the majority of van Dijk's studies, his critical examination of texts often
highlights the ideological component of "Us" vs. "Them" and exemplifies the
discursive frameworks and tactics used in the exercise of the dominant power
(Amoussou & Allagbe, 2018).

2. 2. 2. Fairclough’s Approach

One of the most prominent and productive individuals who contributed to

the creation of CDA is Norman Fairclough. Fairclough kept on his work as a
productive and engaged analyst for CDA. Fairclough argued that there is a
connection between language and power and that discourse is a social activity (Al
Ghazali, 2007).

Fairclough asserted that some speech choices have certain underlying

assumptions. These presumptions are always ideologically motivated and driven,
never value-free and innocent. Since they may create and perpetuate uneven power
relations between social classes, gender groupings, and ethnic and cultural
 13

majorities and minorities by the way they describe and place individuals,
discursive practices may thus have ideological repercussions.

Fairclough (2001) claimed that "the exercise of power, in modern society, is

increasingly achieved via ideology" from this point of view. He introduces the idea
of hegemony, which he identifies as "a way of theorizing change about the
evolution of power relations which allows a particular focus upon discursive
change, but at the same time a way of seeing it as contributing to and being shaped
by wider processes of change," drawing on the relationship between discourse,
power, and ideology (Fairclough, 2001, as cited in Jahedi et al., 2014, p.30).

He also argued that discourse orders are dynamic and subject to change
throughout time. These changes result from altering the power dynamics inside a
social encounter. Fairclough (2001) continued by asserting:

How discourses are structured in a given order of discourse, and how

structurings change over time, are determined by changing relationships of
power at the level of the social institution or of the society. Power at these
levels includes the capacity to control orders of discourse; one aspect of such
control is ideological-ensuring that orders of discourse are ideologically
harmonized internally or (at the societal level) with each other (p.25).

Fairclough suggested three-dimensional levels for conceptualizing and

analyzing discourse (Blommaert, 2005). The first dimension is a text (which may
be spoken, written, visual, or any mix of these), the second is a discursive activity
that involves the creation and consumption of the text, and the third is a social
practice (Fairclough, 2001).
 14

The three phases of CDA—description, interpretation, and explanation—that

Fairclough (2001) established, are related to the three levels of discourse's three
dimensions.

1- The process in which the formal features of the text are taken into account is
referred to as description.

2- The relationship between the text and interaction is the focus of stage two,
interpretation.

3- The link between the encounter and the social setting is addressed in the
explanation stage.

2. 3. Johnny Depp’s Life and Career

American actor, producer, director, sound impersonator, screenwriter, and

musician John Christopher Depp II is renowned for his versatility in the worlds of
cinema and television. He abandoned his high school studies at the age of 16 to
focus on his music career. His childhood was spent in Florida, but he and his band,
then known as the Kids, have since moved to Los Angeles and renamed
themselves Six Gun Method. In addition to his solo career, Johnny Depp has
collaborated with the band Rock City Angels, for whom he co-wrote the song
"Mary," which was included on their Geffen Records album Young Man’s Blues
(Blitz & Krasniewicz, 2008).

His first television role was as Lionel Viland in the 1985 drama series Lady
Blue, which marked his television debut. He also had a role in the comedy "Private
Resort" and a cameo in the short film "Dummies" After portraying police officer
Tommy Hanson on "21 Jump Street" in the late 80s, Johnny Depp became an
adolescent idol (Editors of the famous people.com, n. d.).
 15

2. 4. Amber Heard’s Life and Career

Amber Heard is a Texas-born American actress who was born on April 22,
1986. She is the middle daughter of Patricia Paige, an internet researcher, and
David Clinton Heard, the owner of a construction firm. Heard, who was raised
Catholic, started identifying as an atheist when she was sixteen, after the death of
her closest friend in a car accident. The next year, she left her Catholic high school
to pursue an acting career in Los Angeles because she was no longer at ease in
"conservative, God-fearful' Texas. She finally completed a home study course and
received a certificate (Heard, 2013).

She has acted in a variety of films in unique and unusual roles. She made her
acting debut on the sports drama "Friday Night Lights" and quickly had several
minor roles. After she was cast as a supporting actress in numerous financially
successful films, such as "The Pineapple Express" and "Never Back Down," she
made a breakthrough. These films helped her achieve popularity, and she quickly
started to play the starring role (parcel & Muir, 2023).

On the set of their movie, "The Rum Diary," Johnny Depp and Amber Heard
got to know one another. Both celebrities have said that there was an unmistakable
connection between them even though they were both connected to other
individuals at the time. They started a secret relationship. Then, the couple tied the
knot on a private island in 2015, but they divorced after just 15 months. (Briese,
2022).

2. 5. The Trials

A "trial" is one of the primary procedures used in the legal system to decide
a party's legal claims. When a matter goes to trial, the parties provide the "fact
finder" with evidence (witness testimony, papers, pictures, and the like) (the judge
 16

or a jury). The fact-finder then selects which version of the facts to accept, whether
they demonstrate a breach of a party's legal rights, and if that violation gives rise to
a right for the party to seek monetary damages (Allaw, 2023).

2. 5. 1. Types of Trials

The following are two different types of trials:

2. 5. 1. 1. The Jury Trials: In jury trials, after hearing all of the pieces of evidence
offered by the parties, the jury will return a verdict after the jurors have deliberated
and reached a decision, and then the judge delivers a verdict on the matter. The
judge is there to observe the presentation of the pieces of evidence, resolve any
potential legal disputes, brief the jury on their duties, and do other related tasks.
Yet the jury serves as the "fact finder" choosing which side's account of the events
to accept and eventually determining whether the case is won or lost.

2. 5. 1. 2. The Bench Trials: In a bench trial, the judge hears the pieces of
evidence before reaching a judgment. The judge makes decisions on the case's
legal difficulties as well as whom to trust and who ultimately prevails or fails. The
judge might announce his/her decision from the bench and later issue a written
decision. But more often the judge will simply take the case under advisement at
the close of trial and then prepare and issue his /her written decision. (Civil Law
Self-help Centre, 2023a).

2. 5. 2. Types of Cases

According to the information provided by The Civil Law Self-Help Centre

(2023b), there are two distinct categories of cases:

2. 5. 2. 1. Criminal cases, proceedings entail the enforcement of public rules of

behaviour, which are established in the laws of the state. These laws may be found
 17

in the state's statutes. When people are found to have violated such laws, the
government brings criminal charges against them. Fines, community service,
probation, jail time, and other similar measures may be imposed as punishment in
criminal proceedings.

2. 5. 2. 2. Civil cases, include disagreements between individuals or groups,

including enterprises, and are often about money. A civil case typically starts when
one person or entity (the "plaintiff") asserts that they have suffered injury as a
result of the activities of another person or entity (the "defendant") and requests
redress from the court by submitting a "complaint" and initiating legal proceedings.
The plaintiff may ask the court to give "damages" (amounts of money to make up
for any harm they have endured), or they may ask for an "injunction" to stop the
defendant from doing something or to make them do something, or they may ask
for a "declaratory judgment" in which the court determines the parties' legal rights
under state law or contract.

2. 5. 2. 2. Stages in a Civil Case, the majority of civil litigation may be classified

into the following stages: (Civil law self-help Centre, 2023b).

Pre-filing: During the pre-filing stage, the parties issue requests, attempt to
negotiate a settlement and prepare for the potential of a court action.

Initial pleading: During this stage, one party files papers (called a "complaint") to
start the court action, and the other party files some type of response (an "answer"
or maybe a "motion").

Introductory arguments. At this phase, one party initiates the court action by
filing documents (called a "complaint"), and the other side files a response (an
"answer" or maybe a "motion").
 18

Discovery. During the discovery phase, both parties share information and gain
insight into the strengths and weaknesses of the other party's case.

Post-discovery/pre-trial. The parties begin preparing for trial at this point. They
organize their witnesses and evidence, they may have a settlement conference, and
they may submit applications to the court to settle the dispute or narrow the issues
that will be decided at trial.

Trial. Depending on the intricacy of the case, this stage might be a few hours or a
few months. During this time, witnesses are questioned, evidence is given, and the
case is ultimately determined and a judgment is made.

Post-trial. In the post-trial phase, either the winning party will attempt to collect
the judgment that was entered, or one or both parties may appeal the decision that
was made at trial. However, these steps are not always followed in civil cases.
Certain instances have particular requirements that are outlined in the court's rules
or the applicable legislation.

2. 5. 3. The Defamation Lawsuit

As stated by Whynot (2020, p.3) “The law of defamation is the imperfect

mechanism by which the law attempts to reconcile the competing interests of
freedom of expression and the protection of individual reputation.” Defamation
suits were formed to “provide a legal remedy for a person whose reputation has
been sullied by false statements of fact.” Federal law sees defamation as “any
action or other proceeding . . . alleging that forms of speech are false, have caused
damage to reputation or emotional distress, have presented any person in a false
light, or have resulted in criticism, dishonour, or condemnation of any person”
 19

In the United States, a defamation claim is based on state law, so the things
that are needed to claim defamation can vary depending on which state the claim is
brought in. But, even though each state is different, the following are usually
required to prove a prima facie cause of action for defamation (1) a false and
defamatory statement about another person; (2) a socially disadvantaged
publication to a third party; (3) fault amounting to at least negligence on the part of
the publisher; and (4) either the statement is usable even if it doesn't cause special
harm or the publication does cause special harm (Whynot, 2020).

Defamation may take the form of either libel or slander. The only difference
between the two is how the announcement is made public. Defamation may be
shown in two ways, depending on whether the remark was made orally (slander) or
in writing (libel).

2. 5. 4. The Depp vs. Heard Defamation Trial. This trial, which centered on two
stars with more money than sense and was televised worldwide and torn apart by
some of the most poisonous corners of the internet, displayed the worst of celebrity
culture and its consumers (Sblendorio, 2022). To the tune of $50 million, Depp
filed suit against ex-wife Amber Heard, saying she defamed him in a 2018
Washington Post op-ed in which she identified as a "public figure representing
domestic abuse." While Heard did not specifically identify Depp in the op-ed, she
has previously accused the actor of domestic abuse. Depp has denied the
allegations. Heard countersued Depp for $100 million after his lawyer dismissed
her allegations of abuse as a "hoax" (Murphy, 2022).

According to Bowman (2022), the court has heard distressing claims of

emotional and physical abuse from both sides, and the couple has had some of their
most intimate and embarrassing moments revealed in public. As mentioned by
 20

Andulsada (2022) both parties in the Depp vs. Heard trial used claims and
counterclaims in their representations. Although the case was purportedly about
libel, the majority of the evidence centered on determining whether or not Heard
had been subjected to the physical and sexual abuse that she claimed to have
experienced. Nonetheless, Depp claimed that he never struck Heard and that he
was never out of control while drinking. Heard listed more than a dozen alleged
attacks against Depp, but Depp denied all of them.

Johnny Depp and Amber Heard’s six-week defamation trial has been full of
graphic accusations, tense moments, and different stories of what happened during
their relationship. The trial, which was shown on TV, was supposed to help Depp's
reputation, but it turned out to be a show about a bad marriage. Fans, most of
whom supported Depp, waited in line all night to get a seat in the courtroom.
People who couldn't get in the lineup on the street to cheer for Depp and boo for
Heard when they saw either of them (Lavoie, 2022).

The seven-member civil jury voted unanimously in favour of Depp in both

decisions. Wednesday afternoon, after around 12 hours of deliberation over three
days, the verdicts were read in the Virginia court. In his defamation claim, Depp
was given $10 million in compensatory damages and $5 million in punitive
penalties. In addition, the jury awarded Heard $2 million in punitive damages. The
jury also voted in favour of Heard, who claimed that Depp's attorney defamed her
by calling her accusations of abuse a fake (Sblendorio, 2022).

Heard was there for the verdict’s announcement, but Depp has not been
hanging around Virginia to hear the result. He's been touring the UK for the last
several days singing and playing guitar with Jeff Beck. Once the decision was
handed down, Heard stated on Twitter. “I’m even more disappointed with what
 21

this verdict means for women. It is a setback. It sets back the clock to a time when
a woman who spoke up and spoke up could be publicly shamed and humiliated,”
she said. “It sets back the idea that violence against women should be taken
seriously.” Depp also provided an official Instagram message in response to the
judgment. “The jury gave me my life back. I am truly humbled” (Murphy, 2022).

2. 7. Newspapers

Typically, reading a newspaper is a good way to learn about current events.

Newspapers keep readers up to date on local news and cover events that are
occurring throughout the world. Newspapers teach you more than simply the news.
Papers may provide useful information, such as predictions for the weather,
financial data, and TV schedules (Hamilton, 1959). A general definition of a
newspaper is "an unbound publication issued at regular intervals that seek to
inform, analyze, influence and entertain" (Academic American Encyclopedia,
1989, as cited in Shuaibu et al., 2013, p.2).

Newspapers employ design aspects including article arrangement,

typography, and graphics to make information readily available to readers
(Cheyney, 1992). In a similar vein, newspaper images not only help readers
remember events better but also communicate emotions that are hard to express in
other ways (Lester, 2013).

The eighteenth century was a key time in the consolidation of daily

newspapers. This has generally been accomplished by placing more emphasis on
consistently attracting a certain audience. Newspapers were successful at the time
because of modernization (Steel & Conboy, 2008).

Throughout the 20th century, technologies that interacted with newspapers

influenced the language of newspapers, which at the time were regarded as the
 22

primary source of information worldwide. The emergence of technologies like

radio, television, satellite, and most recently the internet compelled newspapers to
alter the structure and tone of their language to keep a lucrative and wealthy piece
of the market for news and entertainment (Conboy, 2010).

The newspaper's content is also shaped by the beliefs of the people who own
it. The owners of the news stations respect the ideas and goals of their advertisers
when they report the news. Since advertising is a big part of how much money a
newspaper makes, the more people who read it, the more money it makes from
advertising. The editors must respect the ideas of both the people who read their
paper and the people who pay to advertise in it. If they make a mistake with their
ideas, they will lose some readers and advertisers (Ibrahim, 2012).

The news, which is the term for the information we get from newspapers
throughout the globe, is described as "tidings, new information of recent events''
(Reah, 1998, p.4).

Printed news serves the objective of communicating and spreading

information to a wide number of individuals. In addition, there are two categories
of news: hard news and soft news. The hard news category refers to the coverage
of breaking events, such as important world leaders, big crises, earthquakes, and
airline tragedies. The soft news category refers to the covering of more general
topics. The second kind of news is known as "soft news," and it differs from other
types of news in that it focuses more on personalities, is less constrained by time, is
more pragmatic, and has more incident-based reporting (Patterson, 2000).

2. 7. 1. The Role of Newspapers

Newspapers were the usual place where people could argue in public. So,
newspapers can be seen as a way to spread ideas and get people to think about
 23

them. This is because newspapers can cover a wider range of topics and go into
more detail about personal news (Craig, 2004). But reading newspapers makes you
more aware of public issues other than ways of getting information, like watching
TV (Peter & Leuven, 2003). Jennings and Rubado (2019) also said that
newspapers are seen as a reliable and regular source of information about
policymaking, local elections, and other activities of regional government.

Many who support the free press believe that newspapers, and more
especially, high-quality morning newspapers, are what set the agenda for the day's
news and communicate the accepted interpretation of the most important news
stories. Readers of quality newspapers are often well-educated and come from
more affluent social classes (Craig, 2004).

Tabloid newspapers have brought attention to issues that have not

historically been covered by quality newspapers. These issues include noteworthy
societal problems associated with the specific field, such as domestic violence,
teenage starvation, and sexual harassment (Lumby, 1999).

Also, newspapers enlighten the public about themselves since they serve as a
source of information. Moreover, newspapers work to serve as a communication
tool between citizens and lawmakers, as well as between citizens and subjects,
rulers and subjects, and legislators and people. Newspapers also make an effort to
question the power to hold it responsible (Rusbridger, 2005, as cited in Franklin,
2008).

2. 8. Related Studies

There have been several studies conducted on celebrities’ troubles and events,
particularly from a media-related perspective. These studies varied in scope,
method, and approach, as well as the public figures targeted in the study who could
 24

be social, political, business, or sports celebrities. The following are some studies
that are most recent which varied in emphasis and followed different approaches.

1. Abramovitch (1991)

Abramovitch (1991) studied the relationship between celebrities’ rights and

the public exploitation of their images, logos, styles, and any other aspects through
a legal concern. In other words, how legal and court-related procedures protect,
accommodate, and resolve celebrity-related cases in Canada. Abramovitch, thus,
relied on the verbal and non-verbal expressions commonly used by the legal parties
as well as by the celebrities affected by exploitations. The study, also, found that
celebrities’ fame is highly utilized in many entertainment and advertisement
settings whether by look-alikes, imitations, or other bodily movements.

2. Austin (2014)

Austin (2014) examined the issue of drug usage among famous Americans.
Research information used in this study was gathered from The New York Times.
The researcher employed critical discourse analysis to identify the main themes in
media coverage of celebrity drug misuse. Based on the results of this study, it is
clear that the New York Times’ reporting on the drug misuse of famous people has
a weak foundation. The paper looks at the issue from a purely personal and moral
perspective. Mass media outlets avoid discussing drug misuse despite its
prominence as a social issue and health risk. Moreover, the decision to stop using
illegal drugs is portrayed as coming from inside the celebrity's own heart.

3. Septiani (2014)

Another research, by Septiani (2014), focused on the main players in the

case of Bambang Widjojanto, their representations, and the meanings that may be
 25

inferred from those representations. The information was gathered from five
headline stories on the subject in The Jakarta Post, an online daily. A CDA focuses
on the microstructure level that was used to evaluate the data, particularly van
Dijk's framework, the Socio-cognitive Approach (2009). According to the study,
Bambang Widjojanto and the Police are the two main players in this case.
Bambang Widjojanto is often shown favourably in The Jakarta Post, whereas the
Police are typically depicted unfavourably.

4. Zaeni (2016)

Zaeni (2016) analyzed the way Tempo and Time, two news organizations
covered the Mount Slamet accident in online media. Twelve Tempo articles and
one Time story on Mount Slamet's volcanic activity are included in the data. The
study makes use of the socio-cognitive approach, a methodology created by van
Dijk in 2009 and includes macrostructure and microstructure studies. Tempo and
Time have a similar quoting style. According to Zaeni’s analysis, Tempo and Time
mostly depicted volcanic catastrophes via material and linguistic processes.

5. Soares (2017)

Soares (2017) studied two front pages of the popular Brazilian newspaper
“Super Noticia”. Soares attempted to unveil the possible link between the language
and images used by the newspaper's editors and their use of ideology, hegemony,
and persuasion techniques. Through critical discourse analysis, he found that one
way the press persuades people is by using discursive strategies like
democratization and technologization. Also, the pictures on the front page of
newspapers were used to keep practices and ideas about gender, maintain
hegemony, and prove that certain stereotypes are true.
 26

6. Susanto and Zhang (2017)

Susanto and Zhang’s (2017) study, which focused on online media coverage
of interfaith weddings in Indonesia, is another well-known one. The critical
discourse analysis model developed by Norman Fairclough was the analytical tool
of investigation. From September through December 2014, the researchers
examined three online publications. Finding out which media is likely to encourage
diversity, discourse activities, and sociocultural practices is one of the key goals.
Their findings demonstrate that while more secular online media, like
Kompas.com, with an independent ideology of spiritual humanism, are more likely
to support rights for couples of different religions, Islamic-oriented media, such as
Republika Online, tend to reject movements that want to legalize interfaith
marriage. Sinar Harapan.com, a Christian-leaning publication, on the other hand,
tended to ignore this issue as if its readers were indifferent.

7. Degaf et al., (2019)

Degaf et al., (2019), using van Dijk’s model, studied the online media about
the cases of Indonesian celebrities. Their study interpreted how the online press
uses text to report facts. The textual strategy is all about choosing the right words
and using the right grammar. The information is gathered by reading news stories
on the Internet and making notes on them. The results showed that the media uses
words like "mothers who have affairs," "women you can't look up to,"
"presumptuous women," "a man who lies," and "no longer Muslim" when talking
about Marshanda's divorce and Asmirandah's interfaith marriage.

8. Zulfie et al. (2023)

Zulfie et al. (2023) spotted light on celebrity scandals through the

investigation of a single case related to Seungri’s accusation, a Korean musical
 27

icon and idol who has been accused of some crimes. The aim was to find how
media has been used to portray celebrities. To do so, a pragmatic analysis, which is
supported by the analysis of lexical elements, the identification of news-faking,
and the study of distortion, was conducted to identify information and
disinformation as two completely different forms of reporting and their roles in
shaping the language used in media. Zulfie et al.’s study found that media, in
shaping contexts and choosing words, constructed Seungri as the main defendant
in that scandal. The study, additionally, posited that misleading information may
lead to psychosocial changes represented by attitudes and stances.

The present study, which is entitled “A Critical Discourse Analysis of The

Depp Heard Trial in Selected British and American Newspapers”, has similar as
well different aspects to the above-mentioned studies. These previous studies
followed discourse approaches, they tackled social issues, with a focus on
celebrities, they investigated press- or media-communicated topics.
 28

CHAPTER THREE

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

3. 0. Introduction

Chapter Three offers a detailed description of the methodology employed in

this study. It consists of five subsections to fulfil the objectives of the study,
namely the research design, the data selection and collection, and the criteria of
data selection. It, also, contains the theoretical framework of analysis.

3. 1. Research Design

A research design, according to Kumar (2011), is a strategy, process, and

plan for finding solutions to issues or research topics. The plan is the whole
schedule or framework for the study. It suggests a plan for the researcher’s actions,
from developing the hypotheses and considering how they may be utilized to doing
the final data analysis. There are several sorts of designs such as qualitative
method, quantitative method, and mixed method (Creswell, 2009).

Qualitative method is the method followed in this study. Shank (2002, p. 5)

defined qualitative method as "a form of systematic empirical inquiry into
meaning". Qualitative approach is used here since it emphasizes text rather than
numerical data for analysis (descriptive, not statistical). Such approach seeks to
comprehend "how" and "why" a certain social occurrence or program occurs in a
specific setting and period (Polkinghorne, 2005). Following Berg (2001),
qualitative research is concerned with the meanings, conceptions, definitions,
traits, metaphors, symbols, and descriptions of objects

This study employs van Dijk’s Socio-cognitive Approach (2014) and

Fairclough’s Three-dimensional Approach (2015). The study uses qualitative
 29

method to investigate the selected articles and thus to answer the research
questions posed in Chapter One.

3. 2. Data Collection and Selection

Data collection is a technique for gathering and analyzing information on

relevant variables in a structured, systematic way that enables one to analyze
findings, test hypotheses, and respond to specific research questions (Kabir, 2016).
Moreover, Creswell (2012) stated that "the researcher selects participants and sites,
gains permission to conduct the study, decides on the type of data to collect,
develops means for recording information, and administers the data collection"
(p.233). Data collection's goal is to "capture quality evidence," which translates to
a thorough study of the data and enables the development of an argumentative and
believable response to the questions posed (Kabir, 2016, p. 202).

This research was carried out on newspapers for the following reasons: First,
newspapers could influence people to decide that they are seen as powerful
instruments in the public sphere (Rizk, 1994). The publication frequency of
newspapers is the second factor to consider. As a result, they provide the reader
with information that has not yet been outdated. Second, newspapers provide vital
information without a great deal of information that might be confusing (Hamilton,
1959). Third, in comparison to other forms of media for reporting news,
newspapers can cover a far wider variety of topics (Craig, 2004).

The British newspapers have been chosen because Johnny Depp and his ex-
wife Amber Heard once lived and experienced some events in Britain. The couple
got divorced in Britain in 2017, in which Amber Heard gained $7 million as a
divorce settlement. Depp sued the editor Dan Wootton for libel after The Sun, a
British newspaper, published an article that claimed Depp had abused his ex-wife
 30

where he was described a “wife beater”, and he did not win the trial as well as
rejecting his request to appeal the verdict. Moreover, this trial became a topical
issue in Britain as a result most famous British newspapers wrote about it. The
British newspapers were chosen to find any similarities and differences between
with the American newspapers regarding this trial.

American newspapers were selected because Depp and Heard are American.
The trial itself sued over an opening editorial written by Depp’s Ex-wife Amber
Heard and published in the Washington Post, an American newspaper. Also, the
trial took place in a Virginia court and aroused public opinion, which has become
rich material for the American media, especially newspapers.

3. 3. Sources of Data

As previously stated, four newspapers were selected as data for analysis.

These newspapers were published in English. Two articles from each newspaper
were selected. The goal of this research was to examine the text structures and
ideological characteristics of chosen newspapers. The eight articles devoted to this
study were obtained through the official websites of the aforementioned
newspapers, which are www.theguardian.com for the Guardian,
www.telegraph.co.uk for the Daily Telegraph, www.nytimes.com for The New
York Times, and www.washingtonpost.com for the Washington Post. These
articles are detailed in Table 3.1.

Table 3.1

The Data of Study

No Article Headline Source Link Date

.
 31

1. “What did Depp v Heard teach The https://www.theguardian.com/com 5

us? That justice and reality TV Guardian, mentisfree/2022/jun/05/what-did- June
are incompatible” Britain depp-v-heard-teach-us-justice-and- 2022
reality-tv-incompatible

2. “The Amber Heard-Johnny The https://www.theguardian.com/com 1

Depp trial was an orgy of Guardian, mentisfree/2022/jun/01/amber- June
misogyny” Britain heard-johnny-depp-trial-metoo- 2022
backlash

3. “Johnny Depp and Amber The Daily Johnny Depp and Amber Heard 28
Heard are both losers in their Telegraph, are both losers in their bitter May
bitter courtroom battle – here’s Britain courtroom battle – here’s why 2022
why” (telegraph.co.uk)

4. “Amber Heard: I don’t blame The Daily Amber Heard: I don’t blame the 13
the jury for siding with Johnny Telegraph, jury for siding with Johnny Depp June
Depp” Britain (telegraph.co.uk) 2022

5. “Johnny Depp’s Win in Court New York https://www.nytimes.com/2022/06 2

Could Embolden Others, Times, US /02/arts/depp-metoo- June
Lawyers Say” defamation.html?searchResultPosi 2022
tion=28

6. “Kate Moss Denies Johnny New York https://www.nytimes.com/2022/06 25

Depp Pushed Her Down Stairs Times, US /01/arts/depp-heard- May
in Testimony” trial.html?searchResultPosition=37 2022

7. “ Johnny Depp-Amber Heard Washingto https://www.washingtonpost.com/ 1

Jury Sides Primarily with n Post, US arts June
Depp in Defamation Trial” entertainment/2022/06/01/johnny- 2022
 32

depp-verdict/

8. “Depp's attorney tries to Washingto Cross-examination of Amber 17

discredit Heard as cross- n Post, US Heard concludes in Johnny Depp May
examination concludes” defamation trial - The Washington 2022
Post

3. 4. The Model of the Study

In this study, an eclectic model has been adapted to analyze the data. The
models upon which this eclectic one was based include van Dijk’s Socio-cognitive
Approach (2014) and Fairclough’s Three-dimensional Approach (2015).

3. 4. 1. van Dijk’s Socio-cognitive Approach (2014)

According to van Dijk (2014), the Socio-cognitive Approach (hence, SCA)

is interested in studying the role of cognition besides studying the role of society.
Theoretically, this approach is linked between discourse, cognition, and society.
Practically, it requires the analysis of macrostructures as well as microstructures.
This approach shows how cognitive and social reasons play an important role in
interaction and communication (van Dijk, 2001).

van Dijk (2014) introduces three levels in SCA which are macrostructure,
superstructure, and microstructure. Macrostructure refers to the global and general
meaning of a text which can be observed by looking at the topic or theme raised by
a text. A superstructure is a discourse structure related to the framework of a text
and how the components are organized as a whole. Microstructure is the meaning
 33

of discourse that can be observed, namely words, sentences, propositions, clauses,

and paraphrases, besides the analysis of the number, which is one of the most
important ways to make a point in a speech. A large portion of the arguments aims
to increase trust through actions that claim objectivity. Because they reflect the
facts as opposed to mere perception and opinion, numbers and statistics are the
fundamental tools for persuasively demonstrating objectivity. Finally, repetition
analysis was also added which refers to the activity of using the same words or
phrases repeatedly for impact (van Dijk, 2000).

van Dijk’s SCA aims to bridge the gap between discourse (microstructures)
and society (macrostructures). In this respect, van Dijk (2015, p. 469) pointed out
that the link between discourse and society is not merely analytical rather, “the real
interface between society and discourse is socio-cognitive because language users
as social actors mentally represent and connect both levels.”

van Dijk (2014) further elaborated on the mental mediation between

discourse and society by saying that it is not the social features (e.g., social class,
ethnicity, gender, etc.) that directly influence the structures of discourse as it is
theorised in sociolinguistics. Instead, van Dijk (2014, p. 57) emphasised that “It is
the currently relevant, subjective definition of such identities of the participants, as
represented in their context model, which influences the selection of situation.”

Likewise, the mental mediation between discourse and society is referred to

as context. Unlike the traditional notion of context mentioned earlier, contexts,
according to this approach, “are not ‘objective’ or ‘deterministic’ constraints of
society or culture at all, but subjective participants’ interpretations, constructions
or definitions of such aspects of the social environment” (van Dijk, 2006, p. 163).
In other words, the influence of context on discourse is not directly determined by
 34

social structures such as age, position, gender, and power but rather by our
interpretations of these structures. Accordingly, people speak differently in the
same social situation. Equally important, contexts can be defined as “mental
constructs of relevant aspects of social situations” (van Dijk, 2006, p. 165).

Besides, van Dijk shed light on the mutual relationship between discourse
and knowledge; context, which refers to the mental representations of a social
group (e.g., knowledge, beliefs, ideologies, social cognition), has an essential role
in the creation and understanding of discourse and discourse is a crucial source of
human knowledge, i.e., knowledge is acquired from Internet, books, mass media,
educational discourse, and so on (van Dijk, 2003, 2014).

Another cognitive aspect of this approach is social cognition which signals a

set of attitudes, norms, values, knowledge, ideologies, or more specifically, ‘shared
social representations’ that are mentally represented, acquired, and (re)produced
through discourse in a certain social group (van Dijk, 2003). Equally, ideology is
considered an integral aspect of social cognition and was invented by Destutt de
Tracy and is defined as “the science of ideas, the study of how we speak, think and
argue” (van Dijk, 2006, p. 6). Ideology refers to a set of beliefs, opinions, and
interests that are shared by members of social groups. It is also acquired and
developed through social interaction in different situations. Ideology is not always
derived from discourse because what individuals say is influenced by contexts, and
there are contexts where people avoid expressing their ideological perspectives
because of politeness, fear of ridicule and so on. However, the underlying
ideologies of people or social groups influence discourse at large and may be made
explicit by analysing formal and ideological structures of discourse (van Dijk,
2011).
 35

As stated by van Dijk (2014), the analysis of power and power abuse is
Specifically, relevant for the critical study of discourse. Although power relations
between individuals are also discursively created, expressed and reproduced by
discourse, CDS is specifically interested in social power relations between groups,
organizations or institutions. One of the ways to define such social power is in
terms of control. Since discourse is a form of action, power may be exercised by
controlling discourse, that is, (i) specific structures of context, such as Setting
(Time, Place), Participants (and their Identities, Roles and Relations), Social Acts
and their Intentions, as well as Knowledge, (ii) specific structures of text or talk
(topics, lexicon, metaphors, etc.).

3. 4. 2. Fairclough’s Three-dimensional Approach (2015)

Fairclough (2015) drew between three stages of critical discourse analysis;

description of text, interpretation of the relationship between text and interaction,
and explanation of the relationship between interaction and social context. Text
analysis is just one part of discourse analysis, it is the set of formal features found
in a specific text which can be regarded as particular choices from among the
options (e.g. of vocabulary or grammar) available in the discourse types which the
text draws upon.

As for vocabulary, Fairclough distinguished between three types of value

that formal features may have: experiential, relational, and expressive. The aspect
of experiential value is how ideological differences between texts in their
representations of the world are coded in their vocabulary. Some words are
ideologically contested, the focus of ideological struggle, and this is sometimes
evident in a text (Fairclough, 2015).
 36

Fairclough (2015) stated that the value of alternating focus between the text
and the discourse type holds also for meaning relations between words. He
suggested that a relation of synonymy was set up in the text between words which
are not synonymous in any discourse type. In other cases, a text might draw
directly upon meaning relations set up in a discourse type. these relations of
synonymy were ideologically determined, and in fact, meaning relations like
synonymy can often be regarded as; relative to particular ideologies; either the
ideology embedded in a discourse type, or the ideology being creatively generated
in a text.

Fairclough (2015) discussed the main meaning relations are synonymy and
antonymy. Synonymy is the case where words have the same meaning. It is
difficult to find many instances of absolute synonyms, so in reality, one is looking
for relations of near synonymy between words. A rough test for synonymy is
whether words are mutually substitutable with little effect on meaning. Antonymy
is meaning incompatibility - the meaning of one word is incompatible with the
meaning of another (e.g. the meanings of woman and man, or of dog and cat).

Metaphor is a means of representing one aspect of experience in terms of

another and is by no means restricted to the sort of discourse it tends to be
stereotypically associated with, but any aspect of experience can be represented in
terms of any number of metaphors, and it is the relationship between alternative
metaphors that is of particular interest, for different metaphors, have different
ideological attachments (Fairclough, 2015).

Concerning the grammatical features of texts, Fairclough focused on: modes

of sentences and pronouns. There are three major modes of sentences: declarative,
grammatical question and imperative. Declarative sentences are marked by having
 37

a subject followed by a verb. Imperative sentences do not have a subject at all, and
they start with a verb. Grammatical questions are rather more complicated because
there are different types: The wh-questions and the yes-no questions. These three
modes position subjects differently. In the case of a typical declarative, the subject
position of the speaker/writer is that of a giver (of the imperative, the
speaker/writer is in the position of asking something of the addressee (action on the
latter’s part), while the addressee is (ideally!) a compliant actor. In a grammatical
question, the speaker/writer is again asking something of the addressee, in this
case, information, and the addressee is in the position of a provider of information
(Fairclough, 2015).

Pronouns in English do have relational values of different sorts. Fairclough

in his Language and Power (2015) referred to first and third pronouns, how the
choice between them is tied in with relationships of power and solidarity. The
editorials often use the so-called ‘inclusive’ we, inclusive that is of the reader as
well as the writer, as opposed to ‘exclusive’ we, which refers to the writer (or
speaker) plus one or more others, but does not include the addressee(s). The
newspapers are speaking on behalf of themselves, and their readers. Besides, the
pronoun you is used, also in mass communication, where there are many actual and
potential addressees whose identity is unknown to the producer. Despite the
anonymity of mass communication audiences, the direct address of members of the
audience on an individual basis with you is very common indeed.

Action processes can appear as active sentences or passive sentences. The

SVO sentences are all active sentences. Their passive equivalents would be OV (by
S). It is also possible to delete the agent phrase (introduced with by), Agentless
passives leave causality and agency unclear. In some cases, this may be to avoid
 38

redundancy, if that information is already given in some way. In other cases, it can
be an obfuscation of agency and causality.

Finally, all of the three sentence types can be either positive or negative.
Negation has experiential value in that it is the basic way we have of distinguishing
what is not the case in reality from what is the case. But its main interest lies in a
different direction - intertextuality and the intertextual context of a text
(Fairclough, 2015).

3. 5. Justification of the Model Selection

van Dijk’s Socio-cognitive Approach (2014) and Fairclough's Three-

dimensional Approach (2015) are suitable for analyzing the newspapers’ articles
about The Depp-Hard Trial since CDA is the method of newspaper analysis. It is
one of the interpretive and constructivist methods. This methodology allows for a
comprehensive examination of discourse patterns, ideological influences, and
power dynamics within media representations, shedding light on the underlying
mechanisms shaping public perception. The analysts in CDA give their
interpretations of what a text means instead of just counting its properties and
figuring out what it means from that. CDA analysts argue that a text's meaning is
shaped by how the author, the text, and the reader interact with each other, not by
how each reader reads it off the page (Richardson, 2007).

3. 6. Procedures of Data Analysis

Certain steps will be followed in analyzing the articles through the

application of the eclectic model. The following are the steps observed in Chapter
Four.

Step 1: The eight articles will be divided into numbered extracts.

 39

Step 2: Only data-specific extracts will be analyzed.

Step 3: The chosen extracts will be analyzed according to a three-stage method.

Step 4: In the first stage, the text structures will be examined by applying van
Dijk’s Socio-cognitive Approach (2014), Macro and Micro-analysis, and
Fairclough’s Three-dimensional Approach (2015), the description stage of
vocabulary and grammar.

Step 5: In the second stage, van Dijk’s Socio-cognitive Approach (2014), the
social cognition analysis, will be applied to the extracts to reveal the hidden
ideologies and attitudes of newspapers.

Step 6: In the third stage, the power relations embedded in newspapers’ discourses
will be examined by van Dijk’s Socio-cognitive Approach (2014).
 40

Figure 3.1.

The Adapted Theoretical Framework of Data Analysis: van Dijk’s Socio-cognitive

Approach (2014) and Fairclough’s Three-dimensional Approach (2015)

Socio-cognitive Approach

Text analysis Socio-cognitive analysis Socio-context analysis

Ideologies Power relation

Macro analysis Micro analysis

Vocabulary Grammar

You/we pronouns negation Modes of sentences Passivization

Lexical words

Synonyms
Metaphor
Imperative Declarative Grammatical
sentences sentences questions
Antonyms
Repetition

Number words
 41

CHAPTER FOUR

DATA ANALYSIS

4. 0. Introduction

This chapter details the analysis of eight articles from four online
international newspapers about the representation of the Depp-Heard defamation
trial in a qualitative approach. Furthermore, the analysis of the articles proceeds on
three stages: the text analysis stage, the social analysis stage, and the social context
stage, by applying van Dijk’s socio-cognitive approach (2014). At the text analysis
stage, the analysis includes the macro-analysis, which analyzes the general theme
of the text, and the micro-analysis, which includes, vocabulary and grammar by
applying Fairclough's approach (2015), whilst the social cognition analysis is
employed to examine the ideology, attitude, and knowledge of the British and
American newspapers and the social context is devoted to analysing the power
relations contained in these newspapers.

4. 1. The Guardian

4. 1. 1. Article one: “What did Depp vs. Heard teach us? That justice and
reality TV are incompatible” (Appendix A)

This article was written by Catherine Bennet, a Guardian columnist, on the

fifth of June after the announcement of the winning of Depp against his ex-wife
actress Amber Heard. From the very beginning of the article, the title, which
begins with a rhetorical question about what is learned from the trial of Depp vs.
Heard, which the columnist tried to answer with a short and highly meaningful
phrase that justice and reality are incapable of existing together, which clearly
reflected her opinion about the trial as the analysis of the extracts will show us.
 42

[ Bennet, 2022, extract 1] “The US defamation trial has shown us how

‘transparency’ in court translates, which is into a festival of misogyny.
Asked on CBS about losing Depp v Heard, Amber Heard’s lawyer, Elaine
Bredehoft, put much of the blame on the courtroom cameras and the brutal
atmosphere they generated. “It was like a Roman colosseum.” Actually, for
the squeamish, it was much nicer than that”

In the text analysis, the macrostructure analysis referred to the reasons

behind the loss of Heard and where it truly lay, as the editor expressed, behind
many causes, the US trial itself is one of them. On the micro-structure analysis, the
editor used lexical references such as the abbreviation of the United States (US) to
show that the trial took place in the United States, and the word “defamation” to
distinguish the type of trial, defamatory, rather than others. The word
“transparency” is another word used by the editor, where she indicated that the trial
was supposed to have transparency which was mistakenly understood and turned
into “a festival of misogyny” as she put it. Moreover, the editor used the
metaphorical “Roman Colosseum” in order to show how savage and hard the trial
was. The editor, also, compared the atmosphere of the court with the “squeamish”,
which was even better and nicer. Grammatically, the sentences were in a
declarative mode so that readers can receive information properly. Moreover, the
editor used “us” to reflect women in general because the editor was a woman and
she, thus, saw Heard’s issue as representing all women.

The Socio-cognitive analysis of this extract indicates that the editor has used
sentences describing the state and atmosphere of the Depp vs. Heard defamation
case. It showed great criticism of the US court procedures, which could clearly
reflect the attitude of the editor in opposition to the US court.
 43

The Socio-context analysis shows Bredehoft's power, Heard's lawyer, of

accusing the court of having a merciless atmosphere.

[ Bennet, 2022, extract 2] “Those of us watching Depp’s lawyer, Camille

Vasquez, dismember Heard could claim to be acting in a spirit of sober
inquiry and debate, motivated purely by the wish to advance understanding
of US legal procedures. For instance, I learned, between gawping at
Heard’s ornate plaits and Vasquez’s white costumes, that it’s legal in the
state of Virginia for cameras to Livestream a celebrity witness offering
excruciating testimony about sexual abuse, yards from her alleged
assailant”

In text analysis; the macro-structure analysis of this extract highlighted the

procedures of the US court such as the allowed costumes and the live-streaming of
the trial of such a sensitive issue. On the micro-structure analysis, the editor used
certain lexical forms, such as “dismember”, to describe the behavior of Depp's
lawyer, Camille Vasques, against Heard, which indicated a great harshness. The
repeated use of Deep's lawyer Camille Vasquez is also a significant indicator of the
trial. The word “Virginia”, which is a US state, has been emphasized in the article
to indicate where the trial took place. The editor used the synonym “celebrity
witness” rather than saying Amber Heard in order to show Amber as one of the
most well-known celebrities. Moreover, the adjective “excruciating” was used in
the article to describe the testimony because it was related to sexual abuse. The
editor used “us” to refer to the viewers who watched the trial, especially women
who were represented by Heard.

On the Social-cognitive analysis, the editor’s objection of the editor to live-

streaming the trial, as most of the testimonies were about sexual a content that is
 44

not recommended to watch by all people on TV or YouTube, could be seen. Also,

the editor mocked the costumes of Depp's lawyer Vasquez, who was wearing white
costumes, as if she was celebrating. So, the article’s editor questioned and objected
the legal procedures of the US specifically in Virginia.

The Social-context analysis of this extract indicates the power of media,

which could affect people’s points of view and it, therefore, tips the scales towards
or against something/someone.

[ Bennet, 2022, extract 4] “And another: it does not conflict with the
administration of US justice, in particular, the principle that people are
equal before the law if a celebrity witness knows millions of viewers are
scrutinising her face and body language while opposition experts speculate
on the consequences of her alleged personality disorder”

In the text analysis, first, the macro-structure analysis of this extract was
about another lesson that could be learned from the trial, where celebrities are
different from ordinary people. The micro-structure analysis, using “speculate”,
means that Heard exposed speculation from viewers and opposition experts. The
number “millions” referred to the many viewers who watched and followed the
trial, and reflected how Depp and Heard were famous. Negation is another
grammatical structure used in this extract to show how US legal procedures were
different, a structure that was used to indicate what should and should not be done
throughout the trials.

In the Socio-cognitive analysis stage, we can notice the editor's call for
equality for Heard and that she should not be treated as a celebrity rather than a
human being. She quoted an extract from the seventh article of the Universal
Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) which calls for equal protection of the law
 45

without discrimination. Thus, everyone should be treated equally under the law
regardless of his/her race, gender, religion, disability, or other characteristics,
without bias or privilege discrimination.

In the Social-context analysis, this extract can show the power of fame, and
how celebrities were different from ordinary people.

[ Bennet, 2022, extract 5] “Did Heard cry in court or not? Diligent students
recalled that her acting coach testified that Heard struggled “acting wise”
to produce real tears when performing. On the other hand, non-acting-wise
– this point seems not to have registered so widely – the coach often saw
Heard in real tears”

In the text analysis stage, the macro-structure analysis of this extract was
talking about the behaviour of Heard and whether she was performing or not. On
the micro-structure analysis, the extract initially questioned whether Heard's crying
was real or not. This referred to the uncertainty of crying. “acting wise” and “real
tears” were synonymous they both referred to the same thing. Negation was used
twice in this extract to deny Heard's performing of giving tears.

In the Socio-cognitive analysis, the question of whether Heard was crying or

not occupied the readers’ thoughts including the jury who was querying if Heard
did cry and produced real tears or if she was only acting to gain sympathy. Here,
the editor defends Heard and denies Heard acting crying even though her coach
testified that Heard struggled acting crying. So, the editor succeeded in
communicating her attitude.

The Socio-context analysis showed Heard as more powerful where she cried
to protect and defend herself.
 46

[ Bennet, 2022, extract 6] “Transparency is likely to translate, once online

supporters are engaged, into a surge of woman-hating abuse and memes. Of
this, Bredehoft said, the jury, in this case, must have been aware. “They
have weekends, they have families, they have social media,” she said”

In the text analysis, the macro-structure analysis of this extract indicated

how social media affects people and even the jury. On the micro-structure analysis,
“transparency” was repeatedly mentioned in this extract to show that the real
meaning of this word was wrongly understood by the jury, to emphasise its
importance, and to show how it was important to be understood correctly.
Additionally, using another word, such as “women hating” for “misogyny”,
emphasized the importance of this trial. The pronoun “they” referred to the jury as
the other side of the trial as a reflection that the jury was against Heard.

In the Socio-cognitive analysis, the editor seemingly criticized the US court

procedures of broadcasting the trial, which had many disadvantages, one of them
being the comments of the engaged supporters of Depp (memes) in a surge against
women as in this case. The editor, also, argued that such move could affect the
decision of the jury because the jury and their family members have social media
accounts so they could be influenced. This is what Bredehoft, Heard's lawyer,
declared.

The Socio-context analysis showed the power of “media” and to what extent
it can affect people’s lives and change their opinions, even though it can affect the
decision of the jury.

[ Bennet, 2022, extract 7] “There was also a 10-day break allowing for
further absorption of tribal online feeling before jurors returned to a
courtroom besieged by # justice for Johnny supporters: “How could they not
 47

have been influenced?” Bredehoft was duly pilloried for sour grapes, on
social media”

In the text analysis, specifically the macro-structure analysis, this extract

covered the effect of social media interactions on the juror's decision. On the
micro-structure analysis, the word “10” referred to the break days of jurors before
returning to produce the final decision. The form “tribal” was metaphorically used
by the editor to describe the social media followers’ comments because they were
biased toward Depp and against Heard. Another metaphorical expression that was
used to describe Bredehoft's feeling towards the comments of the followers on
social media was “sour grapes”. The editor considered such feelings worthless and
undesirable. The editor’s rhetorical question “How could they not have been
influenced?” addressed the jurors, an emphasis of a certain idea rather than inquiry
about a fact or action.

In the Socio-cognitive analysis, the editor blamed the jurors and accused
them of being affected by social media followers or users as they were literally
besieged by the #justice_for_Johnny comments and hashtags of Johnny Depp’s
followers which could change or affect the decision of the jurors.

In the Socio-context analysis, the power and importance of social media are
shown by the editor as it is indicated in this extract.

[Bennet, 2022, extract 8] “In February, arguing against live broadcasting,

Bredehoft prophesied how existing “anti-Amber networks” would use
resulting videos. “What they’ll do is take anything unfavourable–a look,”
she said. “They’ll take out of context a statement and play it over and over
and over and over again.” This is precisely what has happened”
 48

In the text analysis, the macro-structure analysis, this extract again cited the
bad effects of live-streaming the trial. On the micro-structure analysis, the word
“sole” was used to refer to the juror’s decision, Azcarate, of the trial being live-
broadcasted to show that the decision was a singular one without consensus. The
word “over” has been repeatedly here to ensure the recurrence of manipulation of
Amber videos by anti-Amber networks as out of context.

In the Socio-cognitive analysis stage, the editor slashed the trial procedures
mainly in the live-streaming of the trial. For the editor, such act allowed the “Anti-
Amber network”, as she described them, to reuse the trial videos for illegal ends.
This act has been previously predicted by Bedehofts, Amber’s lawyer, prior to the
trial. The editor, therefore, blamed Judge Penny Azcarate for this decision
describing it as a sole decision.

In Socio-context analysis, the editor emphasized the power of social media

and its interactions, comments, hashtags, short videos and so on…

[Bennet, 2022, extract 8] “When British broadcasters last agitated for

televised courtrooms, it was on the then plausible basis that this innovation
– as well as providing cheap content – would educate viewers and improve
openness. Writing to the prime minister in 2012, representatives of the BBC,
ITN and Sky said: “For too long the UK has lagged behind much of the rest
of the world on open justice. The time has come for us to catch up”

In the text analysis stage, the macro-structure analysis, the extract argues for
the concerns of US-televised courtrooms on British broadcasters, as they probably
will follow the suit. On the micro-structure analysis, the word “agitated” described
British broadcasters’ attitudes towards televised courtrooms. The word “open
 49

justice”, additionally, was used to add to this effect, the one resulted from live-
streaming legal procedures.

In the Socio-cognitive analysis stage, the editor highlighted the broadcasting

the US trials and what consequences they could cause on UK courts. The latter
may imitate the US trials, which the editor vehemently opposed. Principally, UK
courts have had such an idea before and they have written to the prime minister to
allow them to do so because they alleged that this procedure will improve
openness.

The Socio-context analysis shows the importance of media in people’s lives

and issues. Throughout the rest of the article, the same ideas were repeated about
broadcasting the trial and also the editor who accused the US courtroom of being
complicit with the values of mass entertainment. The editor dubbed the courtroom
as a “circus” and the followers as spectators.

4. 1. 2. Article two: “The Amber Heard-Johnny Depp trial was an orgy of

misogyny” (Appendix A)

This article was written by Moria Dongean, another female columnist in the
Guardian about Amber Heard, seeking justice for her and blaming the US
courtroom. From the title, the topic as well as the editor’s attitude can be inferred.
The term “orgy of misogyny” was metaphorically used to portray the courtroom as
a wild anti-women party, and thus, the court was seen as a courtroom of a bad
reputation.

[Dongan, 2022, extract 1] “The backlash to #MeToo has long been

underway. But this feels like a tipping point”
 50

In the text analysis, the macro-structure analysis, the extract reflected on the
reaction of #MeToo, an online social movement against sexual abuse and
harassment, towards Heard's loss in front of Depp. On the micro-structure analysis,
“backlash” referred to the strong and adverse reaction and not an ordinary one to
the #MeToo movement. The extract started with a declarative sentence to show
backlash to #MeToo which was on its way. The synonymous “tipping point” and
the backlash of #MeToo referred to the same idea.

In the Socio-cognitive analysis, the editor;s attitude can be clearly felt as she
stood by Heard and warned of the #MeToo reaction. The editor already that
reaction as a mere backlash against Heard's loss in this trial as if she promised that
this would become significant enough to cause a larger and more important
change.

The Socio-context analysis shows how much women are powerful having
been supported by many movements and organizations.

[Dongan, 2022, extract 2] “In text messages to friends, Johnny Depp

fantasized about murdering his then-wife, the actress Amber Heard…. In
other texts, he disparaged his wife’s body in luridly misogynist terms.
“Mushy pointless dangling overused floppy fish market,” he called her”

In the text analysis, the macro-structure analysis, this extract reported

Depp’s text messages to his friends fantasizing about his ex-wife Amber Heard. On
the micro-structure analysis, the editor used “actress” which referred to Amber
Heard and reflected her career. The editor, however, referred to Depp as “Johnny
Depp” rather than an actor. The repeatedly used form “misogynist” in the title and
the extract highlighted the anti-women attitude taken by Depp when he called
Amber with misogynist forms in his text messages.
 51

In the Socio-cognitive analysis, the editor presented a mistake by Depp.

Being considered as an abusive behaviour against Heard, Depp sent messages
mocking his wife's body and fantasizing about murdering her. Those messages
have been considered evidence against Depp. The editor’s ideology could be felt
clearly by referring to Heard as an actress. The editor, nevertheless, referred to
Depp by his name rather than as an actor, although he is older and more famous.

The Socio-context analysis showed the power of evidence. The person who
had evidence, surely, had more power; they could, as well, convince others and
prove themselves as true.

[Dongan, 2022, extract 3] “The texts became public as part of Depp’s

defamation suit against Heard, now at trial in a Virginia court. Ostensibly,
Depp is suing over a 2018 article that Heard published in the Washington
Post, titled “I spoke up against sexual violence – and faced our culture’s
wrath.” In the piece, the actress writes, “Two years ago, I became a public
figure representing domestic abuse.” The article does not mention Depp, but
his lawyers say that the piece was about him – and was defamatory. For
those 11 words, Depp sought $50m. A jury thought he deserved $15m”

In the text analysis, the macro-structure analysis elaborated on the topic

mainly the reasons behind Depp’s defamation suit against Heard. On the micro-
structure analysis, numbers, such as “2018”, represented the date of publishing the
article Heard,” $50 million” referred to the sum Depp demanded over publishing
the article, and “11” represented the number of words that Heard wrote and
published in the Washington Post. The editor cited quotations to make her column
more convincing. The synonymous “actress” referred to Amber Heard by her
career. The word “ostensibly” is used to show that this lawsuit is taking place for
 52

other purposes, and not just for 11 words that worth no actual lawsuit and how $50
million were demanded just to defame Depp.

The Socio-cognitive analysis indicated the editor’s doubts about the real
purpose which made Depp sue the defamation trial against his ex-wife Amber
Heard. It may be because of the $7 million divorce settlement that Amber has
taken from him in 2017 which pushed him to revenge on her and consider the
editorial as an excuse. The editor found out that using such a lawsuit over an
editorial of 11 words and mentioned not Depp's name was not a convincing reason.

The Socio-context analysis showed the power of media and its effect
people’s lives as well as the influence of money.

[Dongan, 2022, extract 5] “Over the past six weeks, as the trial was live-
streamed online, many of those who have tuned in to watch have treated
Heard with the same contempt that Depp did in his texts. A broad consensus
has emerged online that Heard must be lying about her abuse. She has been
accused of faking the photos of her injuries from Depp’s alleged beatings,
painting bruises on with makeup… Online, the case has taken on a heady
mythology, and belief in Depp’s righteousness persists independent of the
evidence”

In the text analysis, the macro-structure analysis, this extract debated how
the public treated Heard the same way as Depp through their comments and
behaviours by insults and mockery about many things. On the micro-structure
analysis, the word “contempt” referred to the treatment of Heard in online social
networks, where she was seen as an underrated and worthless person. The
metaphorical form “conspiracy theories” was used to show that all of Depp's
allegations were only lies and everything that happened was speculation only.
 53

Another metaphorical expression is “mythology” which referred to a lot of

speculations held by people about this case. Grammatically, the editor kept using
declarative sentences to add more information.

At the socio-cognitive analysis, the editor’s attitude has been clear when she
described the comments of the social media followers as “mythology” and
“conspiracy theories”. This, further, shows the nature of news or stories related on
Heard as only false speculations and nothing more.

At the Socio-context analysis, this extract focused on the power of media

and how much media may affect people's opinions.

[Dongan, 2022, extract 6] “In the service of this myth, any cruelty can be
justified. When Heard took the stand, she became emotional as she
recounted how Depp allegedly hit her, manipulated and controlled her,
surveilled her and sexually assaulted her. Afterwards, ordinary people,
along with a few celebrities and even brands like Duolingo and Milani, took
to social media to mock or undermine Heard. They took screenshots of her
weeping face and made it a meme… The audio of her crying became a
TikTok trend”

In the text analysis, the macro-structure analysis, the extract was concerned
with how Heard was made fun of by many people, celebrities and even brands
upon her crying while she was testifying about Depp's abuse. In the micro-structure
analysis, the synonymous “manipulated”, “controlled”, and “surveilled” referred to
abuse. In other words, Heard was abused victim by her ex-husband Johnny Depp.
The word “mock”, repeatedly used in the extract, pointed to the treatment Heard
received by social media followers.
 54

In the Socio-cognitive analysis, the editor criticized social media followers,

brands and celebrities about their stance toward Heard, where they mocked her for
her crying while she was testifying about Depp's abuse. They mocked her
describing her cry and tears as fake. The editor accused them of being harsh and
treating Heard in credulity and undermining her, with the image of her crying
became a TikTok trend and meme.

In the Socio-context analysis, this extract, just like the previous ones, again
and again highlighted the power of media. Media can be exploited to lead or
mislead the facts.

[Dongan, 2022, extract 7] “This is not the first time Depp has sued over the
allegations. In 2020, a British court heard Depp’s lawsuit against the
British tabloid The Sun, which Depp sued for defamation after an article
referred to him as a “wife beater”. UK courts are much more amenable to
defamation claims than American ones, but Depp still couldn’t prevail: the
British judge found that the Sun’s characterization of Depp was
“substantially true”

In the text analysis, the macro-structure analysis, this extract covered the
defamation trial that Depp sued over The Sun's allegations, a British daily
newspaper which reported columns against Depp, in a UK court. On the micro-
structure analysis, there are several cited to clarify certain ideas. These are “2020”
which is the date of a lawsuit by Depp over The Sun, a British tabloid, and “12”
which mentioned the times Depp abused Heard as mentioned by the UK court. The
word “abuse” was repeatedly used throughout the article and the extract too, in
order to emphasize the idea of abuse and to judge Depp as an abusive husband.
 55

In the Socio-cognitive analysis, the editor recalled a previous case of Johnny

Depp. Depp had a defamation lawsuit in a UK court over The Sun, a British tabloid
which described Depp as “a wife beater”. Depp, thus, was judged as an abused
husband and he, accordingly, lost the case. This implies a clear comparison
between the US courts and the UK courts where the latter are more amenable to
defamation claims than the former.

In the Social-context analysis, the extract shows the power of laws, which
may vary from one country to another.

[Dongan, 2022, extract 8] “The trial has turned into a public orgy of
misogyny. While most of the vitriol is nominally directed at Heard, it is hard
to shake the feeling that really, it is directed at all women – and in
particular, at those of us who spoke out about gendered abuse and sexual
violence during the height of the #MeToo movement...In this way, Heard is
still in an abusive relationship. But now, it’s not just with Depp, but with the
whole country”

In the text analysis, the macro-structure analysis, the extract generally details
the reaction (backlash) of people towards Heard which has been considered against
women all over the world not only against Heard, having been considered as an
abusive one. On the micro-structure analysis, several words have been repeatedly
used by the editor to emphasize a certain idea. The word “abuse” described Depp
as an abusive husband. The word “orgy” criticized the courtroom as a wild party.
The word “misogyny” showed much people hate women and want to keep them
silent. The word “vitriol” criticized the people’s reactions as being directed to
Heard rather than Depp. The word “virulent” described how situations could be
toxic and malicious especially when it is related to women.
 56

In the Socio-cognitive analysis, the editor felt sorry for the backlash against
Amber Heard, which the editor described as being directed against all women
especially those who spoke up. The editor, in fact, was concerned about the
consequences of this trial on all the women in the world. The extract, therefore,
implied a criticism of the public hatred of women. The entire American society,
and not only Depp, was shown as abusive to Heard.

In the Socio-context, the extract draws on the will to fight for women's rights
publicly.

[Dongan, 2022, extract 13] “The backlash to #Me Too has long been
underway. Critics of the movement painted women’s efforts to end sexual
violence as excessive and intemperate from the start, claiming #MeToo had
“gone too far” before it got underway at all. And yet the Heard trial does
feel like a tipping point in our culture’s response to gender violence. The
forces of misogynist reaction are perhaps even stronger now for having been
temporarily repressed. Where once refused, en masse, to keep men’s secrets,
or to remain silent about the truth of their own lives, now, a resurgence of
sexism, virulent online harassment, and the threat of lawsuits, all aim to
compel women back into silence – by force”

In the text analysis, the macro-structure analysis, this extract hinted at the
#MeToo movement and its reaction towards the Depp-Heard trial. On the micro-
structure analysis, the #MeToo backlash has been labelled as “excessive”,
“intemperate”, and “gone too far”.

In the Socio-cognitive analysis, the editor called for women’s rights in

general and criticized those who are critical of #MeToo. This trial, as the editor
indicated, represented all the woman in the world who should not be biased against
 57

and who should not be object of sexism. The extract, moreover, made clear several
things concerning women-related attitudes held nowadays by many. Some people,
as the editor openly argued, want women to stay silent even if they face domestic
violence.

The Socio-context analysis showed the power of women in general and the
power of the editor as a pro-woman rightist.

4. 2. The Daily Telegraph

4. 2. 1. Article one: “Johnny Depp and Amber Heard are both losers in their
bitter courtroom battle – here’s why” (Appendix B)

This article, written by Johnnson, a US correspondent for The Telegraph,

discussed the allegations of both Depp and Heard in the trial in full view of people
which made them both losers because they may never personally and
professionally recover.

[Johnson, 2022, extract 1] “As the blockbuster six-week defamation

trial between Johnny Depp and Amber Heard drew to a close, the courtroom
in Fairfax, Virginia burst into spontaneous applause to congratulate the
stenographer who transcribed every detail”

In the text analysis, the macro-structure analysis, this extract showed how
the trial of Depp vs. Heard has turned into a blockbuster. On the micro-structure
analysis, “six” referred to the number of weeks of trial. The metaphorically used
“blockbuster” referred to the six-week trial as a product of great commercial
success. The synonymous “burst” and “applause” referred to the approval from the
court to congratulate the transcriber who wrote the details of the trial.
 58

In the Socio-cognitive analysis, the editor portrayed the courtroom as having

an outbreak of spontaneous approval after the trial came to an end which means
that the court itself was satisfied, agreed, and concluded the final decision.

The Socio-context analysis showed the power of a courtroom as an

institution that imposes provisions on people.

[Johnson, 2022, extract 3] “A jury of seven must now decide if Ms Heard

defamed Mr Depp after she wrote in an op-ed for The Washington Post that
she was “a public figure representing domestic abuse”. The article never
mentioned Mr Depp, 58, by name, but he sued her for $50 million (£40
million). His lawyer told jurors it was clear that Ms Heard was referring to
him and that he denies the claims”

In the text analysis, the macro-structure analysis, generally this extract was
about the decisive moment of the jury to decide whether Heard indeed defamed
Depp or not. On the micro-structure analysis, “seven” is a number that refers to the
members of the jury. Also, “58” referred to Depp’s age. As for “50”, it signalled
the amount of money Depp has sued Heard for. The word “claim” indicated the
many claims filed by each party against the other.

In the Socio-cognitive analysis, the editor, in this extract, hinted that the
final decision was in the jury's hands to decide if Heard really defamed Depp when
she wrote in an op-ed or the Washington Post, that she was suffering from
domestic abuse. The editor, further, explained that Depp's name was not mentioned
by Heard. Heard, however, sued for $50 million which is considered an
exaggeration.

The Socio-context analysis showed the jury as a powerful agent because it

had the ability to make decisions related to sensitive matters and issues.
 59

[Johnson, 2022, extract 4] “Ms Heard, 36, countersued for $100 million
(£79 million), saying Mr Depp smeared her when his lawyer called her
accusations a “hoax”

In the text analysis stage, the macro-structure analysis, this extract focused
on Heard's lawsuit which followed Depp because of what one of Depp’s lawyer's
expressed against Heard. On the micro-structure analysis, the word “hoax” referred
to Heard’s allegations by one of Deeps' lawyers. “36” referred to Heard's age as a
young celebrity. “$100” million was the amount of money that Heard countersued
Depp for. The editor used declarative sentences to recount more information and
situations about the former couples.

The Socio-cognitive analysis of this extract showed that Heard had

countersued Depp for $100 million because Depp was accused of smearing Heard
when his lawyer called her allegations a “hoax”. To put it simply, the editor
wanted to say that Depp's lawyer was one of the people who mocked Heard and
accused her of lying.

The Socio-context analysis showed the power of money, as suing a lawsuit

and demanding money was considered the replacement for jail in defamation trials,
almost not for the money itself but to regain their consideration and reputation.

[Johnson, 2022, extract 5] “There were two versions of most stories. The
worst of the violence allegedly came in March 2015 in Australia, where Mr
Depp was filming the fifth Pirates of the Caribbean film, Salazar’s Revenge.
It was in Australia that Mr Depp lost the tip of his finger, but their accounts
of how that happened differed. Ms Heard said that they started fighting over
Mr Depp’s alleged”
 60

In the text analysis stage, the macro-structure analysis, this extract recounted
the stories that have been alleged by both Depp and Heard which were different.
On the micro-structure analysis, “two” referred to the versions of stories, there
were always two stories about each situation. “2015” is the date of the situation
mentioned in this extract. The word “alleged” was repeatedly cited to refer to the
allegations of both parties. The synonymous “stories” and “worst of the violence”
referred to the same idea each time with a different description, which reflected a
lot of stories that have been claimed by both sides.

In the Socio-cognitive analysis, the editor mentioned a situation experienced

by Depp and Heard where each side had a different version. The insistence of both
sides to always claim that there were always two versions of any situation made
the jury and people also doubted their speech. Heard claimed that Depp had abused
her on, while Depp counterclaimed the opposite.

The Socio-context analysis showed the power of evidence in order to decide

which one was right/wrong, especially when each side claimed the opposite.

[Johnson, 2022, extract 7] “The High Court in London has already found
that Mr Depp assaulted Ms Heard on a dozen occasions, but this trial on
American soil is being seen in some quarters as a watershed moment for the
MeToo movement in the US. Mr Depp’s lawyers say that she is not part of it.
Camille Vasquez, who has become a breakout star of the trial in her own
right after a meticulous cross-examination of Ms Heard, attacked the slew of
claims as “an act of profound cruelty to true survivors of domestic abuse”

In the text analysis stage, the macro-structure analysis, this extract made a
comparison between the results of Depp’s defamation in the UK, which he lost,
and the later one in the US, which he won. The extract, also, talked Camille
 61

Vasquez, Depp's lawyer, who took an important role throughout the trial. On the
micro-structure analysis, different words have been cited to express certain ideas.
“soil” referred to the US law or procedures which were different from that of the
UK. “dozen” was metaphorically used to indicate that Depp used to abuse Heard
many times. The editor used negative sentences to deny certain claims and positive
sentences to prove others. The synonymous “Vasquez” and “breakout star”
referred to the same person, Depp's lawyer.

In the Socio-cognitive analysis, the editor wanted highlighted the differences

between UK laws and US laws conning cases of domestic abuse. Starting with the
former defamation trial of Depp in Britain which he lost, in contrast to the one in
US, which he won, each courtroom saw things from different corners. The editor’s
attitude here was obvious. The editor was surprised by the final decision and
considered it a turning point for the #MeToo in the US.

The Socio-context analysis showed the power of the law and how it can
identify people as loser and winner.

[Johnson, 2022, extract 8] “The public is not on Ms Heard’s side, either,

with many people lapping up claims that she used make-up to fake bruises,
doctored photographs to manufacture her injuries… “Believe all women…
except Amber Heard,” joked Chris Rock, the comedian. Battle scars will run
deep. Benjamin Rottenborn, Ms Heard’s lawyer, retorted: “If you didn’t
take pictures, it didn’t happen. If you did take pictures, they’re fake”

In the text analysis stage, the macro-structure analysis, this extract talked
about the claims of the public people about Heard, accusing her of lying and faking
truths. On the micro-structure analysis, the lexical word “claims” has been repeated
throughout the article, referring to a lot of claims from both sides, Depp, Heard,
 62

and even people. The synonyms “ex-husband” and “Depp” refer to the same
person one time by his name and other time by his social role.

The Socio-cognitive analysis showed the editor's attitude who sides with
Heard. The editor blamed the people who were against her and threw lies at her for
instance they accused her of faking makeup bruises and alleged that Depp abused
her. The editor, finally, quoted a speech by Chris Rock, who said “Believe all
women…except Amber Heard”.

The Socio-context analysis highlighted the power of Media which turns

issues into public opinion.

4. 2. 2. Article two: “Amber Heard: I Don't Blame the Jury for Siding with
Johnny Depp” (Appendix B)

This article, which written by Rozina Sabur, a Daily Telegraph reporter, can
summarize the issues raised in this column. The article discusses a statement by
Amber Heard following her loss in the trial in front of Johnny Depp. The editor
indicated that she was neither surprised nor will she blame the jury for siding with
Depp for different reasons.

[Sabur, 2022, extract 1] “Amber Heard has suggested that she lost her high-
profile defamation battle against Johnny Depp because her ex-husband is a
“fantastic actor” whom “people feel they know”. The 36-year-old broke her
silence on the trial to detail the “hate and vitriol” she received online in an
interview with the Today programme on NBC News”

In the text analysis stage, the macro-structure analysis, this extract detailed
Heard's declarations after her loss in the trial. On the micro-structure analysis, the
synonymous “ex-husband” and “fantastic actor” referred to the same person,
 63

Johnny Depp, each time the editor used different synonyms to indicate something.
The editor referred to Heard by her age only without her name, and thus “the 36”
indicated Heard was a young actor. The synonymous “detail” and “suggested”
indicated that Heard began to declare or comment about the trial and its verdict.

The Socio-cognitive analysis showed the editor's obvious attitude, from the
beginning of the article, by naming the article with one of Heard's statements after
the verdict. This extract talks about her reaction where she comments about the
verdict and mentioned that she wasn’t surprised or blamed the jury because she
knew her ex-husband was a fantastic actor. So he won the trial because of his
qualifications. After all, the evidence Depp produced for the jury, Heard stilled
suspense and accused him of lying and acting of being the victim, using his
talented career that he mastered to deceive the jury as well as the public.

The Socio-context analysis of this extract showed the power of Heard as a

woman who called for justice and spoke up about the abuse that she was exposed
to by her ex-husband.

[Sabur, 2022, extract 2] “In a preview clip, Heard said of the jury: “I don’t
blame them. I understand. He’s a beloved character and people feel they
know him. He’s a fantastic actor.”She was pushed on the verdict by
Savannah Guthrie, the NBC interviewer, who told the actress: “Their job is
to not be dazzled by that. Their job is to look at the facts and evidence and
they did not believe your testimony or your evidence”

In the text analysis stage, this extract recalled Heard’s comments in an NBC
interview after the winning of Depp in the trial. On the micro-structure analysis,
the editor cited various quotations from Heard to convey the idea and to show
Heard's reactions and opinions after the verdict. The word “testimony”, repeatedly
 64

used, indicated that Heard’s testimony was unbelievable by the verdict. The
synonymous “beloved character” and “fantastic actor” both referred to Depp.

In the Socio-cognitive analysis, the editor quoted from Heard to convey the
idea that Heard was not satisfied with the final verdict of the defamation trial of
Depp vs. Heard and she gave many reasons that the jury did not believe her
testimony and believed Depp. One of those reasons related to Depp himself as a
beloved and fantastic character, and other reasons related to his fame and fortune.
The editor, also, justified Heard’s move to push the verdict because of the
interviewer, Savannah Guthrie, who stimulated her.

The Socio-context analysis showed two powers, the first one was of Depp as
a beloved and famous character and the other was of the evidence which can
distinguish the defendant from the plaintiff.

[Sabur, 2022, extract 3] “Speaking about the messages she has

received online, she said: “I don’t care what one thinks about me or what
judgments you want to make about what happened in the privacy of my own
home, in my marriage, behind closed doors. “I don’t presume the average
person should know those things. And so I don’t take it personally”

In the text structure analysis, the macro-structure analysis, this extract talked
ab the messages Heard received from many people online and her reaction and
opinion about these messages. On the micro-structure analysis, the editor used and
quoted many negative sentences where Heard denied her affection for all the
messages of people online. The synonyms “said” and “add” showed Heard's
statements about the messages.

In the Socio-cognitive analysis, the editor cited in this extract some

quotations from Heard in an interview which expressed her feelings, reactions and
 65

opinions about the messages that she received from people online after her loss in
the trial. The editor's attitude was to show that Heard did not care about people's
opinions and views towards her, the important thing was that she believed in
herself and resisted despite everything.

The Socio-cognitive analysis showed the power of speaking up, defending

oneself and resisting despite all the circumstances.

[Sabur, 2022, extract 4] “A jury in Virginia concluded that a 2018 article

Heard wrote for The Washington Post about her experiences as a survivor
of domestic abuse was defamatory and awarded $10.35 million (£8.2
million) in damages to Depp. Heard won on one count of her countersuit,
successfully arguing that Depp’s press agent defamed her by claiming her
allegations were “an abuse hoax”

In the text analysis stage, the macrostructure analysis, this extract was about
the details of the verdict of the Virginia jury. On the microstructure analysis, in this
extract, the editor mentioned many numbers each one indicating something,
“$10.35” million indicated the amount of money Depp was rewarded by the jury.
“2018” was another number indicating the year the editorial was written against
Depp. The lexical word “an abuse hoax” was a description of Heard's allegations
as false ones.

In the Socio-cognitive analysis, the editor only presented the final decision
of the US jury. The court decided that Depp was defamed by Heard in the article
she wrote and published in the Washington Post so they rewarded him with $10
million in damages. The court, also, ruled that Heard was defamed by Depp's
lawyer by describing her allegations as a hoax so they rewarded her with $2
million in damages.
 66

The Socio-context analysis showed the power of the jury to impose verdicts
and distinguish people, the abuser from the abused. It, moreover, highlights the
role and affection of money.

[Sabur, 2022, extract 5] “Depp previously lost a similar trial in the UK

which he brought against the publisher of The Sun newspaper after an
article, also written in 2018, which referred to him as a “wife-beater”

In the text analysis stage, the macro-structure analysis, this extract tells the
previous defamation trial of Depp vs. The Sun, a British tabloid, in Britain and
about its reasons and results. On the micro-structure analysis, the verb “lost”
referred to the result of the trial of Depp. “wife beater” was the description of Depp
by the publisher of The Sun emphasizing that Depp was beating Heard. The word
“2018” was the date of writing the article against Depp.

In the Socio-cognitive analysis, the editor in this extract indirectly compared

between the US court and the UK court by hinting at the previous defamation trial
of Depp but this time it was against The Sun, a British tabloid, which referred to
him as “a wife beater”. The question was why Depp lost in Britain and won in
America…

The Socio-context analysis showed the power of media and its affection for
people's private and general lives.

4. 3. The New York Times

4. 3. 1. Article one: “Johnny Depp’s Win in Court Could Embolden Others,

Lawyers Say” (Appendix C)

This article, by Julia Jacobs, a culture reporter at The New York Times, on
June the second, was written one day after announcing the winning of Johnny
 67

Depp against his ex-wife Amber Heard. This article showed the effects and side
effects that will follow Depp’s defamation trial where many people will be
emboldened and try their luck with juries.

[Jacobs, 2022, extract 1] “The actor’s victory against his ex-wife Amber
Heard in one of the highest-profile defamation cases to go to trial could
inspire others to try their luck with juries”

In the text analysis stage, the macrostructure analysis, this extract states the
consequences of the Depp-Heard trial which was encouraging others to do the
same. On the micro-structure analysis, the editor used “the actor” when referring to
Johnny Depp which reflected that he was not an ordinary person but a famous
actor (one of the celebrities). “highest profile” was used to clarify that this
defamation case deserved such a trial because of this reason. The sentences were in
declarative mode to add new information.

The Socio-cognitive analysis of the extract was that the editor here
mentioned, one of the Depp-Heard trial changes that will make many people who
were exposed to libel and extrusion do the same as Depp did, to sue their
opponents and seek justice to return their good reputation which has been
destroyed by the allegations of the opponents, in addition to gaining money as
compensation.

The Socio-context analysis of this extract showed Depp as a powerful

celebrity seeking justice.

[Jacobs, 2022, extract 2] “As the #MeToo movement fueled a public airing
of sexual assault and misconduct allegations, defamation lawsuits quickly
became a tool for both the accused and accusers to seek retribution and
redemption. Men accused of misconduct have increasingly turned to
 68

defamation suits to try to clear their names, as have victims accused of

making false allegations. But between the high costs of lawyers’ fees and the
fears of revealing embarrassing details in open court, many such cases are
settled before they ever reach trial”

In the text analysis stage, the macro-structure analysis, the extract generally
focused on the role of the #MeToo movement toward the Depp-Heard trial and
also the reasons that made people step as Depp did, suing a libel trial, or
abstaining. On the micro-structure analysis, the word “fueled” showed or reflected
the #MeToo role in this issue. Also, the word “defamation” was used to show the
type of the case is civil rather than criminal. The word “misconduct” was
repeatedly used to highlight the important reasons for conducting this trial which
was the misconduct between couples.

At the Socio-cognitive analysis, the editor first showed that the #MeToo
movement had agitated public opinion by airing sexual assault and misconduct
allegations against Johnny Depp so that Depp had to sue this defamation lawsuit
which was the suitable tool for accused and accusers seeking redemption and
retribution. The editor in this extract gave such important reasons for using such a
lawsuit, for instance, persons who were accused of misconduct of course wanted to
clear their names by suing such trials. So the editor was justifying Depp's suing in
this trial.

The Socio-context analysis showed the power of media which spread news,
as well as the power of Depp who resorted to court to seek justice.

[Jacobs, 2022, extract 3] “The bitter legal battle between the actor Johnny
Depp and his ex-wife Amber Heard was closely watched in part because it
was one of the highest-profile defamation cases to …he was awarded more
 69

than $10 million in damages — could embolden others accused of abuse or

misconduct to try their luck with juries, despite the real risks of airing dirty
laundry in public”

In the text analysis stage, the macro-structure analysis, this extract states the
defamation trial of Johnny Depp against his ex-wife Amber Heard. On the micro-
structure analysis, the lexical word “battle” described the trial of Depp vs. Heard as
a struggle between the couples. Also, the synonymous “bitter” described the same
thing, which reflected the high stage of struggle. The synonyms “actor” and “Mr”
before mentioning Depp's name referred to Depp as a celebrity of high level and
fame. Mentioning the number “10 million” to show the amount of money that
Depp was awarded in damages. In this extract, the editor employed declarative
sentences to add new information and expectations about the consequences of this
trial.

The Socio-cognitive analysis showed the editor's attitude toward Depp by

mentioning him as an actor and Mr Depp unlike Heard who was mentioned as
Depp's ex-wife only. Also hinting that Depp was right to sue this trial because he
was defamed and the case was a highest profile defamation case as a result he
described Depp's gain or wins as a victory. Moreover, the editor mentioned one of
the changes that this trial will make in the short and long term which is to
embolden others to do the same as Depp did.

The Socio-context analysis showed Depp as more powerful in his career as a

celebrity, with fame and money.

[Jacobs, 2022, extract 7] “The outcome differed from that of a case in

Britain, where a judge had ruled two years ago that there was evidence that
Mr Depp had repeatedly assaulted Ms Heard. That ruling came in a libel
 70

suit that Mr Depp had filed after The Sun, a British tabloid newspaper,
called him a “wife beater” in a headline. While Britain is sometimes
considered hospitable to libel cases, the judge who heard that case, Andrew
Nicol, found that there was sufficient proof to conclude that most of the
assaults Ms Heard described had occurred, and he determined that what the
newspaper had published was “substantially true”

In the text analysis stage, the macro-structure analysis, this extract was a
reminder extract about a similar libel trial Depp had suited in the UK, but this time
against The Sun, a British tabloid, after referring to Depp as “a wife beater”. On
the micro-structure analysis, the word “hospitable” was used to describe the British
law stance was helpful. “two” referred to the case that took place in Britain two
years ago. The sentences were coherent, they talked about a united idea. The editor
used declarative sentences to recall the events.

In the Socio-cognitive analysis, the editor here compared British and

American laws and how each country may deal with such cases. The editor
described Briish as open-handed in libel cases in particular. This made Depp lose
his libel lawsuit two years ago against The Sun, after mentioning him as “a wife
beater”.

In the Socio-context analysis, this extract showed the power of law in doing
justice. Also, it showed Depp as a powerful person with enough knowledge to
think of suing his ex-wife Amber Heard in US Virginia which served him and his
aim.

[Jacobs, 2022, extract 11] “The trial was captured by two cameras in the
courtroom that allowed the testimony to be packaged into memes and online
commentary — much of which mocked Ms Heard’s accusations of abuse. In
 71

an interview with NBC’s “Today” show on Thursday, one of Ms Heard’s

lawyers, Elaine Charlson Bredehoft, said that the cameras had turned the
trial into a “zoo” …“anti-Amber” networks would take statements out of
context and play them repeatedly”

In the text analysis stage, the macro-structure analysis, this extract detailed
how much media can affect cases especially those about celebrities in addition to
those captured by cameras and conveyed to the public. On the micro-structure
analysis, the metaphorical expression “zoo” was mentioned by Heard's lawyer
Berredehoft which described the courtroom and showed how it was as harsh as a
zoo where the stronger eat the weaker. “two” referred to the number of cameras
that were capturing the court session and conveying them to people. The
antonymous “Ms Amber” and “Anti-Amber” referred to those people who were
against Amber Heard. The editor used cited the words of Amber's lawyer to
emphasize the idea clearly.

In the Socio-cognitive analysis, the editor, with a neutral attitude, presents a

very important matter which turns things around, it allows cameras to convey the
court sessions and testimony to the public so the trial becomes a tropical issue and
a public opinion case.

The Socio-context analysis highlighted the power of media which could

make great changes in different issues and matters especially about celebrities.

4. 3. 2. Article Two: “Kate Moss Denies Johnny Depp Pushed Her Down Stairs
in Testimony” (Appendix C)

This article was written by Julia Jacobs, a culture reporter at the New York
Times. It talked about one of the most important testimonies in the trial which was
the testimony of Kate Moss, who appeared as a witness for Mr Depp, whom she
 72

dated in the 1990s, the British model countered testimony by the actor’s ex-wife,
Amber Heard, who had alluded to a rumoured incident between them.

[Jacobs, 2022, extract 1] “Lawyers on each side of the defamation case

between Johnny Depp and Amber Heard worked on Wednesday to
undermine the credibility of the other as the trial wound down and the
moment approached when the jury would be tasked with deciding whether to
believe that Mr Depp abused Ms Heard, she abused him or mutual abuse
occurred. Mr Depp’s legal team brought forward testimony from the British
model Kate Moss”

In the text analysis stage, the macro-structure analysis, the general meaning
of this extract was the atmosphere of the last days of the trial where each side
wanted to prove himself/herself right so they aimed to introduce evidence on one
hand and reduce claims on the other hand. As a result, the jury will side in his/her
favour. On the microstructure analysis, the lexical word “undermine” reflected the
theme of this extract, it referred to that each side wanted to weaken the other by
proving something in his/her favour. The synonyms “lawyers” and “legal team”
refer to the same idea but in different words. The number “1990s” referred to the
period that the incident of Kate Moss as Heard claims. The editor used declarative
sentences to add new information and cover more incidents.

The Socio-cognitive analysis showed that the editor wanted to portray the
conflict between the two parties, Depp’s attorneys and Heard's attorneys. Their
purpose was to prove themselves right and to gain the case. So, Mr Depp's legal
team rebuts the rumour that Ms. Heard had alluded which was the incident in that
Kate Moss, Depp's previous girlfriend, was abused by Depp by pushing her
downstairs. After Moss's testimony, she denied the incident but on the opposite,
 73

she admits Depp's good treatment of her. This testimony changed the course of the
trial in favour of Depp.

In the Socio-context analysis, this extract showed the power of evidence and
how it might change the course with or against and prove the truth.

[Jacobs, 2022, extract 3] “Mr Depp said that message reflected his shock
that Ms Heard was making false allegations about him, but he denied
sending a pair of separate messages that included the words, “I need. I
want. I take,” about a woman. “You read it right but I did not write that,”
he said, later calling the texts “grotesque.” “Perhaps someone else had my
phone”

In the text analysis stage, the macrostructure analysis, this extract was about
a pair of messages Depp had sent to Heard after her last allegations against him,
which he denied. On the micro-structure analysis, he uses some quotations from
Depp's speech to emphasize the idea of his denying the text messages. The lexical
word “grotesque” described the messages as weird ones. The words “need”,
“take”, and “want” refer to the contents of Depp’s messages.

In the Socio-cognitive analysis, the editor showed that Depp was shocked
about Heard's allegations and denied sending such messages to Heard, he also
claims that someone else might send them from his phone. The attitude of the
editor was clearly shown using quotations from Depp to emphasize his denial.

The Socio-context analysis of this extract showed Depp as more powerful

and trusting himself and his speech.

[Jacobs, 2022, extract 5] “Ms Heard had also discussed that “rumour” in
testimony at an earlier trial in Britain in 2020, a case also associated with
 74

the question of whether Mr Depp had physically abused his wife. In that
case,… Ms Moss did not testify during the proceeding in London. But Mr
Depp’s legal team chose to call her as a witness in Virginia after Ms Heard
again referred to Ms Moss in the courtroom”

In the text analysis stage, the macro-structure analysis, this extract generally
showed the affection of Kate Moss's testimony on the Virginia trial. On the micro-
structure analysis, the lexical word “rumour” referred to Heard's claim of the
incident between Depp and his ex-girlfriend Kate Moss. The synonymous “The
Sun” and “British tabloid” refer to the same idea but in different expressions. Other
synonyms were “lead lawyer” and “Mr Chew” both referred to the same person,
first it was referred to him by his functional role to show his position in the trial,
then by his name. The expression “pump his fist” depicted a celebratory gesture
from Depp's lawyer.

The Socio-cognitive analysis of this extract was about a rumour that was
previously shot against Depp. Amber Heard had mentioned at an earlier
defamation trial of Depp in Britain a situation related to domestic abuse in order to
prove her speech incredibility. It was about Depp's ex-girlfriend Kate Moss, who
was abused and pushed from stairs by Depp. In this trial Heard repeated the same
incident which made Mr. Chew, Depp's lawyer, celebrate to prove the opposite. He
brought Moss to testify and deny Heard’s claims against Depp. Moss's Testify
changed the situation in favour of Depp, especially when she praised Depp for his
good treatment through their relationship. It was a chance for Depp's lawyers to
defend Depp, and they prove to Hear how false were her allegations.
 75

The Socio-context analysis showed the power of evidence. It, moreover,

showed Depp as a powerful celebrity because he has a strong legal team who can
prove his right.

[Jacobs, 2022, extract 6] “The jury is expected to get the case by the
weekend. Technically the members are empanelled to determine whether the
reputation of either member of the former couple has been damaged by false
statements about their tumultuous relationship. To do so, jurors will have to
decide whether either side presented credible evidence that abuse had
occurred”

In the text analysis stage, the macro-structure analysis, this extract generally
was about the final decision of the jury, which will determine if the reputation of
either member of the former couple has been damaged by false allegations. On the
micro-structure analysis, the lexical word “empanelled” referred to the state of the
jurors, they were confused about their decision and had to agree on one opinion.
The editor used passive voice to focus on the action of damaging reputation by
false allegations.

The Socio-cognitive analysis of this extract was about the jurors' decision,
who were confused about which side was true and which side was false, and also
about who defamed whom because there were a lot of claims and allegations from
both sides. The editor represented the jury with a neutral attitude about both Depp
and Heard so they asked for credible evidence from each one to prove his/her right.

The Socio-context analysis showed the power of evidence especially

credible evidence because in such cases only evidence proves truth and recognizes
lying from honesty.
 76

[Jacobs, 2022, extract 7] “Another witness for Mr. Depp on Wednesday was
Beverly Leonard, who said she saw Ms Heard get into an altercation with a
companion in 2009 when Ms. Leonard was working at an airport in Seattle.
Ms Leonard said Ms Heard grabbed the other woman and pulled a necklace
off her before she stepped between them”

In the text analysis stage, the macrostructure analysis, this extract talked
about other evidence from Depp's side by another witness who testified against
Amber Heard in a strange incident that happened at the airport. On the
microstructure analysis, the synonyms “Ms Leaonard” and “unexpected witness”
both referred to the same person and indicate that this person was an unexpected
witness who reached out to the Depp’s team to offer her testimony. “2009”
referred to the date of the incident that this extract talked about.

In the Socio-cognitive analysis, in this extract, the editor mentioned another

testimony against Heard in favour of Depp. Beverly Leonard, a police officer at the
airport in Seattle, witnessed Heard in a strange situation, grabbing a woman and
pulling a necklace off her in the airport where she was arrested. This could put
Heard in a bad situation and prove that she was an abuser rather than an abused
victim.

The Socio-context analysis showed the power of evidence and in turn the
power of Depp who had more evidence by his side.

[Jacobs, 2022, extract 11] “The Virginia case was sparked by a 2018 op-ed
in The Washington Post, in which Ms Heard said her career suffered after
she became a “public figure representing domestic abuse.” The article did
not mention Mr Depp by name, but he has asserted that its allusions to their
 77

relationship “devastated” his acting career. The seven-person jury is also

considering Ms Heard’s countersuit”

In the text analysis stage, the macrostructure analysis, this extract was about
the main cause behind this trial. On the microstructure analysis, the lexical word
“suffer” referred to a lot of suffering, especially concerning their career. “seven
people” was a number that referred to the members of the Jury. The synonyms
“Daily Mail” and “British tabloid” both refer to the same newspaper but in
different expressions one by its name and the other by its place of publication.
Other synonyms were “the Virginia case” and “this trial” which referred to the
same trial of Depp against his ex-wife Amber Heard. Negation was a grammatical
device utilized by the editor to deny mentioning Depp's name in the editorial of
Heard.

The Socio-cognitive analysis showed that the editor trying to identify the
trigger of this trial which was over an opening editorial written by Heard and
published in The Washington Post, Heard was referring to herself as a public
figure suffering from domestic abuse. Depp's attorneys said that she was referring
to Depp without mentioning his name. This claim of Heard affected Depp's career
as a result he lost many important works so it's time to prove the opposite and
return his reputation. Heard also was defamed by Depp's lawyer when he called her
allegations a hoax, as decided by the jury.

The Socio-context analysis of this extract showed the power of Media and to
what extent it could change people’s lives and affect their careers and reputation.

4. Washington Post

4. 4. 1. Article One: “Johnny Depp-Amber Heard Jury Sides Primarily with

Depp in Defamation Trial” (Appendix D)
 78

This article was written by a team of editors and then consisted of many sub-
sections each one talked about a certain topic and was written by a separate author.
It showed how the jury sided primarily with Depp rather than Heard of course
relying on pieces of evidence.

[Yahr et al., 2022, extract 1] “Johnny Depp prevailed in his three counts of
defamation against Amber Heard and was awarded $15 million, the jury
announced Wednesday. The seven-person jury also decided that Depp,
through his lawyer Adam Waldman, defamed Heard on one of three counts
in her countersuit; she was awarded $2 million. The unanimous decision
was delivered on the third day of deliberation, bringing an end to the trial
after six weeks of emotional testimony recounting Depp and Heard’s
tumultuous relationship and its fallout”

In the text analysis stage, the macro-structure analysis, this extract presented
the results of Depp’s defamation trial. On the micro-structure analysis, “$15
million” referred to the amount of money that Depp was awarded in this trial.
“third day” was another number that referred to the period the jury took to
deliberate the final decision. Another number was “six weeks” which refers to the
time that the trial took place. “$2 million” was the amount of money Heard was
awarded. The editor used lexical words such as “unanimous” which described the
decision of the jury as done by agreement between the jury which consisted of
seven judges. Another lexical word “tumultuous” was a lexical word which
describes Deep-Heard's disturbed relationship.

In the Socio-cognitive analysis, the editors only presented very brief details
about the trial and focused on the final part which was the announcement of the
winning of Depp and what had happened after it, because in libel trials the
 79

punishment was not Jail but the person who was accused should be awarded
money instead. The details were presented without any bias.

The Socio-context analysis expressed the power of money. Also, it depicted

Depp as more powerful because he won the trial and was awarded $15 million.

[Yahr et al., 2022, extract 2] “Depp, 58, said he was “overwhelmed” in a

statement released after the verdict. The jury “gave me my life back,” he
wrote. “I am truly humbled.” Heard, 36, had a more blunt assessment of the
proceedings, saying that she was “sad I lost this case” and that the verdict
“sets back the clock to a time when a woman who spoke up and spoke out
could be publicly shamed and humiliated. It sets back the idea that violence
against women is to be taken seriously”

In the text analysis stage, the macro-structure analysis, this extract talked
about the feelings and opinions of Depp supporters after his gain in this trial. On
the microstructure analysis, “58” referred to Depp's age which reflected him as an
old actor, not a new one. “36” was the age of Heard which reflected Heard as a
young actor. The lexical word “overwhelmed” described Depp's state before the
trial as he expressed. The extract was full of quotations from both to convey their
opinions and feelings about the trial and its results.

In the Socio-cognitive analysis, in this extract, the editors presented Depp

and Heard by their age, Depp 58 and Heard 36, which gave Depp the priority to
win the case as an old and famous celebrity more than Heard. They conveyed
quotations from both Depp and Heard to convey the idea that this trial has changed
their life one positively and the other negatively.
 80

The Socio-context analysis showed Depp as more powerful as one of the

most well-known Hollywood celebrities, who has more money, more fame, and a
long-time career in acting.

What does this mean for Depp’s and Heard’s careers?

[Andrews, 2022, extract 3] “Over the past decade, Johnny Depp and Amber
Heard’s careers have followed different trajectories. While she was
breaking out in “Justice League” and “Aquaman,” which grossed more
than a billion dollars, Depp was staring down a string of panned films and
box-office flops, including “Mortdecai” and “Alice Through the Looking
Glass.” Both actors have claimed their careers were damaged by the high-
profile accusations and subsequent trial. Matthew Belloni, the former editor
of the Hollywood Reporter and founder-partner of Puck, thinks the short-
term effects might be negative — but that they can both potentially recover
in the long term”

In the text analysis stage, the macro-structure analysis, this extract talked
about the consequences that will follow the trial on the level of career for both
Depp and Heard. On the microstructure analysis, the lexical word “breaking out”
referred to the actors' progress in their careers especially in the last decade. The
editor used the synonymous expressions “breaking out” and “starting down” which
referred to the same idea of progress in the field of acting and producing works.

The Socio-cognitive analysis remained the readers with the famous works,
over the last decade, of Depp and his ex-wife Heard, where they were both
progressing in their careers. However, such a defamation trial about their personal
life will surely have a bad effect on their long career, especially with Depp who
 81

was defamed of domestic abuse. Finally, the editor mentioned that both celebrities
are strong enough to return to their career strongly.

The Socio-context analysis showed Depp and Heard as powerful actors and
two of the most celebrities.

Heard supporter at the courthouse is ‘disappointed, but not surprised at

the verdict

[Yahr, 2022, extract 4] “Sydney Porter, 30, of Prince George’s County in

Maryland, didn’t see any other Amber Heard supporters at the courthouse
Wednesday — but that has typically been the scene in Fairfax, Va., where
Johnny Depp fans have taken over. “I’m disappointed but not surprised,”
said Porter, who was holding a banner that said “We Stand With Amber
Heard,” with supportive messages written out from some of her online
supporters. “I’m a little confused because I feel like it’s very obvious who
suffered more in terms of the allegations people made.” She added that she
thinks it was a mistake to live-stream the trial and not sequester the jury”

In the text analysis stage, the macro-structure analysis, this extract talked
about the disappointment of Heard's supporters after her loss and Depp won in this
case. On the micro-structure analysis, the lexical word “taking over” describes
Depp supporters who attended outside the court in Virginia Fairfax. Another word
was “disappointed” which referred to the only supporter of Heard, Sydney Porter,
who had been waiting outside holding a banner which mentioned some of Heard's
supporters' comments.

In the Socio-cognitive analysis, the editor showed Heard and her fans'
feelings, where they were both disappointed because of their loss in the trial. Also,
he expressed their opinion of not surprising the decision of the jury. They blamed it
 82

on live streaming the trial which made people comment on and intervene in each
video, situation, or picture in the courtroom.

The Socio-context analysis depicted Depp as more powerful because he had

a lot of supporters who attended outside the courtroom to support him.

‘Johnny for president!

[Schwartzman, 2022, extract 5] “Outside the front of the courthouse, there

were shouts of “Johnny for president!” and “Johnny — 2024!” as police
officers helped Depp’s lawyer navigate the crowd and reach his black SUV.
“Out of the street!” a cop shouted at the crowd. “Back it up!” another
officer yelled. Sandy Riley, leaning on her cane, took in the scene as she has
since the trial began. “We’re so proud of Fairfax County,” she said,
standing alongside her husband, Phil, 80. “I told the man from the BBC that
George Washington’s will is kept 200 feet from here. We know how to do
things right. This wasn’t a circus. It was a trial”

In the text analysis stage, the macro-structure analysis, this extract talked
about the feelings, reactions, and opinions of Depp supporters after winning his
defamation trial against his ex-wife Amber Heard. On the microstructure analysis,
from the very beginning, the editor used the synonymy “president” which referred
to “Johnny Depp” as his supporters called him. The antonyms “circus” and “the
trial” refer to the same idea but from different points of view. The editor quoted
Depp’s fans to emphasize the idea that Depp fans supported him and celebrated his
gain. “80” was one of the Depp fans who attended outside the courtroom to
celebrate which referred to how much Depp fans loved and supported him, even
the old man came and attended for support. “200 feet” was another number that
referred to the space between the courtroom and George Washington to express
 83

one of Depp fans' opinions that in this country everything should be done in the
right way, and no one should be oppressed.

The Socio-cognitive analysis showed great feelings of delight the reader can
touch and feel when reading this excerpt where the editor wanted to convey Depp's
supporters' reactions toward his gain, in his defamation trial against his ex-wife
Amber Heard. They considered him as a president this can reflect great love and
support.

The Socio-context analysis showed the power of Depp as having great

support from huge fans and supporters.

‘Johnny Depp is the slam-dunk winner’

[Maloy, 2022, extract 8] “In the minutes after the verdict was announced,
Depp fans rejoiced — at the courthouse, online and elsewhere — over what
they largely characterized as a heavily one-sided victory for Depp. David
Ring, a civil trial lawyer based in Los Angeles who specializes in sexual
assault cases and civil litigation, agreed with that takeaway. While the jury
found that both parties defamed each other and awarded what Ring called
“significant damages” to both, “Johnny Depp is the slam-dunk winner. No
question” Ring said. “I think 99 out of 100 cases when you have a big
celebrity involved, the celebrity wins, whether it’s criminal or civil. Jurors
love celebrities”

In the text analysis stage, the macro-structure analysis, this extract generally
talked about the reactions of Depp fans after his gain in the trial also it mentioned
some quotations from different people such as lawyers. On the microstructure
analysis, the metaphorical expression “slam dunk” referred to Depp as a person
who always won and surely would win. “99” showed that in most cases related to
 84

celebrities, the celebrity wins. The lexical word “rejoined” referred to the feelings
of Depp’s fans toward his gain. Grammatically, declarative sentences were used to
convey the sequence of events to readers.

In the Socio-cognitive analysis, the editor here described what extant Depp
fans have rejoiced. They celebrated outside the court and online too and described
Depp's gain as a heavy one. This victory meant a lot to his fans and him in return.
The editor quoted David Ring, a civil trial lawyer, speech that jurors love
celebrities so if there was a celebrity his win was guaranteed.

The Socio-context analysis showed the power of Depp as a celebrity of great

works, fame, and fortune, as well as of older age and experience.

4. 4. 2. Article Two: “Depp's attorney tries to discredit Heard as cross-

examination concludes” (Appendix D)

This article was written by Travis M. Andrews, a feature writer for the
Washington Post. It talked about how Depp's lawyer specifically, Camille
Vasquez, interrogated Heard and doubted or disgraced Heard's answers in many
situations of the trial.

[Andrews, 2022, extract 1] “Cross-examination of Amber Heard by one of

Johnny Depp’s attorneys concluded Tuesday afternoon in Fairfax County in
the bitter defamation trial between the film celebrities. Depp attorney
Camille Vasquez’s rapid-fire questions sought to discredit Heard’s
testimony and continuously categorized her as abusive toward her ex-
husband during their tumultuous relationship and marriage”
 85

In the text analysis stage, the macrostructure analysis, this extract was about
the cross-examination of Heard by Depp's lawyer Camille Vasquez, and the aims
behind this interrogation which was spread as a short video. On the microstructure
analysis, the synonyms “film celebrities” and “Depp and Heard” both referred to
the same persons but one by their name other by their career as famous people. The
metaphorical expression “rapid fire” described the way Vasquez was asking
questions to Amber Heard which was strong and rapid. The lexical word “bitter”
described the trial of Depp vs. his ex-wife Heard. The synonyms “ex-husband” and
“Depp” referred to the same person, referring to Depp as Heard’s ex-husband.

In the Socio-cognitive analysis, the editor presented one of the famous cross-
examinations in the trial which was that of Depp's lawyer Camille Vasquez to
Depp's ex-wife Amber Heard. Vasquez had asked Heard many questions about
situations, and incidents and also claims of her life with her ex-husband but what
drew attention was Vasquez's way of asking questions to Heard which was harsh
and rapid, the editor said that the reason behind this way of asking was disgracing
and doubting Heard’s speech to determine her as an abuser rather than abused.

The Socio-context analysis showed the power of Johnny Depp as having

strong attorneys who could speak strongly and bring evidence to vindicate Depp,
one of the most popular attorneys was Camille Vasquez.

[Andrews, 2022, extract 2] “Depp sued Heard for $50 million over a 2018
op-ed she published in The Washington Post, which alleged domestic abuse
from an unnamed person. He claims the piece has ruined his reputation and
his career and contends that he never physically or sexually abused Heard.
She countersued him for $100 million after his lawyers said her allegations
were false (The Post is not a defendant in the lawsuit.)”
 86

In the text analysis stage, the macrostructure analysis, generally, this extract
was about the main reasons that pushed Johnny Depp to sue his ex-wife Amber
Heard for this defamation lawsuit. On the microstructure analysis, using the
number “$50 million” referred to the amount of money Depp had sued his ex-wife
for. “2018” was the date of publishing the opening editorial of Heard. “$100
million” was another number referring to the amount of money Heard had
countersued Depp after his lawyer described her allegations as a hoax. The words
“sued” and “countersued” were both antonyms to each other.

The Socio-cognitive analysis showed the editor presented the reasons that
made Depp sue such a trial, the most effective and important was that Depp's
reputation and career had been ruined because Heard alleged him. On the other
hand, Depp has denied all of Heard's allegations and said that he never abused her
physically or sexually so he resorted to law to gain his distorted relationship.

In the Socio-context analysis, this extract showed the power of money as a

punishment for people who defamed others. They have to pay an amount of money
decided by the courtroom over this guilt.

[Andrews, 2022, extract 4] “As she would throughout her cross-examination

questions Tuesday, Vasquez then quickly pivoted, bringing up another,
unrelated incident. She questioned Heard’s testimony concerning a
particularly brutal incident she alleged took place in Australia, in which she
claims she was sexually assaulted with a liquor bottle and the tip of Depp’s
finger was severed. Depp alleges Heard cut his finger by throwing a vodka
bottle at him, while the defence suggests Depp injured himself”

In the text analysis stage, the macrostructure analysis, this extract was about
Vasquez's cross-examination of Heard about a savage incident in Australia. On the
 87

microstructure analysis, the lexical word “pivoted” referred to Vasquez's way of

interrogating Heard, as if she was spinning and bringing up an unrelated incident.
The synonym “claims” was the same as “alleges” which referred to a lot of claims
from both sides. The editor used declarative sentences to inform readers of Depp
and Heard's claims.

In the Socio-cognitive analysis, this extract presented Vasquez, Depp's

lawyer, as pivoting from one unrelated incident to another only to prove that
Heard's allegations against Depp were false. In this extract, Vasquez asked Heard
about the Australian incident where she alleged that she had been abused with a
liquor bottle and her ex-husband's finger severed. On the contrary, Depp claims
that she threw the bottle on his finger and cut it. On the other hand, the defence
suggested that Depp, himself had hurt his finger. The editor presented many
allegations from both as a result only credible evidence can prove the truth from
the false claims.

In the Socio-context analysis, this extract showed the power of Johnny Depp
as having strong attorneys like Camille Vasquez who tried to defend Depp and
away Heard's false allegations from him.

[Andrews, 2022, extract 5] “Vasquez focused on the sequence of events,

which she suggested were improbable — claiming Depp could not do so
much damage with a severed finger. Heard maintained that she didn’t recall
the order in which things occurred, saying, “I have never claimed that I can
remember the exact sequence of these things. This is a multi-day assault that
took place over three horrible days”

In the text analysis stage, the macrostructure analysis, the general meaning
of this extract was the cross-examination of Vasquez to Heard, Vasquez tried to do
 88

her best and investigate the sequence of events to prove Heard's false allegations.
On the microstructure analysis, the synonyms “three horrible days” and “multi-day
assault” both refer to the three days of cross-examination of Heard by Camillie
Vasquez. The lexical word “claiming” was repeated many times in this extract to
show that there were a lot of claims from Heard against Depp. Using negative
sentences to deny Heard’s recalling the order of events. Using a quotation from
Heard’s speech to emphasize the idea of claiming.

In the Socio-cognitive analysis, this extract presented the rest of the

interrogation of Vasquez to Heard, this time Vasquez focused on the sequence of
events to prove that Heard did make many false claims against Depp. On the other
hand, Heard claimed that she didn’t even remember the sequence of events. This
put her in a very difficult and embarrassing situation in front of the jury. Heard
described Vasquez's cross-examination days as assaultive and horrible. The editor's
attitude was only presenting events in this extract.

In the Socio-context analysis, this extract showed the power of Camillie

Vasquez, Depp's lawyer, who defended him and did her best to prove him right,
her role and investigation of Heard affected him very much in the case.

[Andrews, 2022, extract 6] “Vasquez further sought to discredit Heard’s

testimony about the incident in Australia by pointing out that “there is not a
single medical record” of Heard’s injuries, nor are there any photographs
of them. Vasquez noted that Heard expressed concern for Depp’s substance
abuse but continued using drugs and alcohol herself”

In the text analysis, the macrostructure analysis, the general meaning of this
extract was about the same incident in Australia but now Vasquez demanded
Heard to present a piece of evidence on everything she claimed concerning this
 89

incident. On the microstructure analysis, the lexical word “discredit” referred to

Vasquez who tried to doubt or disgrace Heard’s claims concerning this event. The
editor used negative words and sentences to deny the existence of any evidence.

In the Socio-cognitive analysis, this extract showed that Heard has made
many false allegations and never admitted this on the contrary she continues
claiming, that the last claim was that she didn’t remember the events. Vasquez had
shown Heard as a liar who couldn’t bring a single piece of evidence to improve her
claims about Depp abuse in Australia, with no medical record, no photograph just
many claims and only claims.

In the Socio-context analysis, this extract showed the power of Camille

Vasques who proved or could at least prove that Heard was only claiming Depp
abuse and had no evidence against him concerning the Australia incident.

[Andrews, 2022, extract 7] “She questioned whether it was Heard who was
jealous, rather than Depp — as the defendant has claimed. She suggested
Depp got Heard her role in the movie “Aquaman,” and presented a tape
recording in which Heard insulted Depp’s career, calling him “washed-up”
and a “joke.” She also presented multiple sets of text messages in which
Heard repeatedly asks Depp to answer the phone, in an attempt to portray
Heard as jealous. “You were texting him incessantly,” Vasquez said. Heard
said she sent them in a desperate attempt to get Depp to stop using drugs”

In the text analysis, the macrostructure analysis, the general meaning of this
extract was Vasquez's defence of Depp against other claims from Heard and her
dependence. It is also about Heard's assault on her ex-husband by two messages.
On the microstructure analysis, Heard used metaphorical expressions describing
Depp which reflected her assault on him, “joke” referred to Depp as a laughing
 90

stock, and “washing up” was another metaphor referring to Depp as a person who
was no longer, successful, skillful, popular or needed. The synonyms “presented”,
“suggested” and “questioned” all referred to Vasquez's defence of Depp. The
editor quoted Vasquez's speech to emphasize the idea of defence of Depp.

In the Socio-cognitive analysis, the editor in this extract presented Vasquez

as a strong woman searching for evidence to defend her client. Previously, the
defendant Heard claimed that Depp was jealous of her success. Vasquez asked
Heard about jealousy and proved that Heard herself was jealous rather than him,
Depp was the cause of getting Heard her role in the famous movie “Aquaman”.
Vasquez also resented a tape recorder in which Heard assaulted Depp's career with
two disgraceful words. Moreover, Vasquez presented two messages in which
Heard assaulted her ex-husband.

In the Socio-context analysis, this extract showed the power of Camellie

Vasquez, Depp's lawyer, as a strong lawyer who defended her client and tried to
prove his innocence in front of his ex-wife in a defamation trial.

[Andrews, 2022, extract 8] “Vasquez pressed heavily against Heard’s

argument that the op-ed she wrote — which lies at the heart of the trial —
isn’t about Depp but about what happened to her after she obtained a
temporary restraining order against the actor. “I was talking about a bigger
issue, actually, than just Johnny,” Heard said”

In the text analysis, the macrostructure analysis, the general meaning of this
extract was about the main reason that made Heard write the opening editorial
against Depp as Vasquez suggests. On the microstructure analysis, the expression
of Vasquez's “heart of the trial” was a synonym for the “jury”, the first expression
was used to show that Heard dealt with the heart of the trial to gain their sympathy.
 91

The lexical word “press” referred to Vasquez's behaviour toward Heard. The editor
used negative sentences to deny the reason that Heard introduced behind writing
her opening editorial.

In the Socio-cognitive analysis, in this extract, the editor showed Vasquez as

a strong personality lawyer who was able to press stiffly on Heard to identify the
right from the wrong claim. Vasquez could successfully argue against Heard and
showed to the jury and the public the exact or the real reason behind writing the
opening editorial against Depp, she added that Heard had got a temporary
restraining order which pushed her to do so and she proved this claim with a
quotation of Heard’s speech.

In the Socio-context analysis, this extract showed the power of Vasquez who
was able to speak up, enter into hard arguments, and search for credible evidence
to prove Depp's innocence in front of his ex-wife's false allegations.

[Andrews, 2022, extract 9] “Heard’s countersuit revolves around several

claims made in the press by Depp’s former lawyer Adam Waldman, who
called Heard’s accusations a hoax. She claims the accusations, which she
characterized as a “negative smear campaign,” led to the loss of career
opportunities. In response, Vasquez read headlines from articles negatively
characterizing Heard that were published before Waldman’s comments”

In the text analysis, the macrostructure analysis, this extract was about the
reason behind countersuing a defamation lawsuit by Amber Heard against Depp's
former lawyer Adam Waldman. On the microstructure analysis, the lexical word “a
hoax” described Heard's false allegations which were used by Depp's lawyer
Waldman. The synonymy “smear campaign” was the same as “a hoax” and both
 92

described Heard's false accusations against Depp. The editor used declarative
sentences to add information to readers.

In the Socio-cognitive analysis, this extract presented Heard justifying

countersuing Depp’s Lawyer Adam Waldman about his statement which describes
Heard's allegations. Heard said that these statements in the press were a plan to
discredit her by making false accusations against her. On the other hand, these
negative words have negatively affected her career. All these justifying statements
by Heard didn’t help her because Vasquez was there waiting to prove the opposite,
which was that many articles had mentioned Heard negatively before Waldsman's
statements. Again and again, Vasquez was able to show the truth.

In the Socio-context analysis, this extract showed the power of Vasquez,

Depp's lawyer, who investigated events and searched for the right evidence to
show and this also could reflect the power of truth, no matter how long the
injustice stayed, the justice will come.
 93

CHAPTER FIVE

CONCLUSIONS, RECOMMENDATIONS AND SUGGESTIONS FOR

FURTHER STUDIES

5. 0. Introduction

The concluding findings of this study are covered in this chapter. These
conclusions are drawn from three levels of analysis: text analysis, socio-cognitive
analysis, and socio-context analysis. The answers to the following research
questions form the basis of the findings:

1. What are the discourse structures used in the British and American newspapers
in reporting the Depp-Heard trial?

2. What ideological representations have been used by these newspapers to

represent both Depp and Heard?

3. How far were these newspapers different and similar in covering this trial?

5. 1. Findings of Research Question 1

5. 1. 1. The Guardian

Concerning the findings of the lexical analysis, many important lexical words were
highlighted by the editor throughout the articles to emphasize a certain idea.

1.Tthe editor repeated “transparency” several times to indicate that the trial was
supposed to have transparency which was misunderstood and turned into “a
festival of misogyny” as she expressed. The word “sole” referred to the decision of
juror Azcarate of live broadcasting the trial to show that the decision was a
singular one without consensus.
 94

2.The editor employed synonymous words such as “actress” and “celebrity

witness” which referred to Amber Heard, Depp's ex-wife, as a celebrity rather than
an ordinary person. Another repeated synonym was “women hating” which was
another word for “misogyny”. The editor wanted to say that the trial and people
who watched and commented on the trial videos were full of hatred for women.

3.Moreover, the editor used “us” to reflect women in general because the editor
was a woman and saw Heard's issue as representing all women and the pronoun
“they” which referred to the jury as the other side of the trial which reflects that
jury was against Heard.

4.As for metaphors, there were lots of metaphorical expressions used by the editor
such as “tribal” which is used by the editor to describe the comments of the
followers on social media because they were biased toward Depp and against
Heard. the metaphorical expression “Roman Colosseum” was also used to portray
to the readers how savage and harsh the trial was.

As far as grammatical analysis is concerned, the editor employed declarative

sentences to add more information to the readers about what happened in the trial
and on social media.

Negation was another grammatical structure used in this article to show how
US legal procedures were different, which allowed many things that should not be
allowed throughout the trials.

5. 1. 2. The Daily Telegraph

Concerning the findings of the lexical analysis, many important lexical

words were highlighted by the editors to emphasize certain ideas.
 95

1.The editors used “claim” to refer to a lot of claims from both sides. The word
“testimony” which was repeatedly used indicates that Heard’s testimony was
unbelievable by the verdict.

2.The editor used synonymous words such as “stories” and “worst of the violence”
to highlight the same idea each time with a different description, which reflected a
lot of stories that have been claimed by both sides. The synonyms “Vasquez” and
“breakout star” referred to the same person, Depp's lawyer. Other synonyms are
“beloved character”, “fantastic actor”, and “ex-husband” all referring to Johnny
Depp.

3.Concerning metaphors, there were lots of metaphorical expressions used by the

editor such as “blockbuster” which referred to the six-week trial as a product of
great commercial success. “Dozen” was a metaphorical expression that indicates
that Depp used to abuse Heard many times.

4.The editor also cited different numbers each one indicating a certain date or
amount such as “$10.35” million indicating the amount of money Depp was
rewarded by the jury. “2018” was another number indicating the year the editorial
was written against Depp. “two” referred to the versions of stories, there were
always two stories about each situation

In the scope of grammatical analysis, the editor employed declarative

sentences to recount more information and situations about the former couples.

Coherence was another grammatical strategy used by the editor, whereby the
articles reported the same idea or conveyed certain ideas with different words,
sentences, and expressions.
 96

5. 1. 3. The New York Times

Concerning the findings of the lexical analysis, many important lexical

words were used by the editor throughout the articles to emphasize a certain idea.

1.The lexical word “undermine” referred to each side wanting to weaken the other
by proving something in his/her favour. The lexical words “need”, “take”, and
“want” refer to the contents of Depp messages.

2.The editor employed synonymous words such as “the actor” and “Mr” when
referring to Johnny Depp which expresses that he was not an ordinary person but a
famous actor (one of the celebrities). The synonyms “lawyers” and “legal team”
refer to the same idea but in different words. Antonyms are also utilized by the
editor, “Ms. Amber” and “Anti-Amber” refer to those people who are against
Amber Heard.

3.The metaphorical “zoo”, as stated by Heard’s lawyer Berredehoft, was used to

describe the courtroom and to show how mercilessly and cruelly species there eat
each other.

4.In addition, the editor cited numbers several times hinting at dates or amounts.
These included “1990s” which referred to the period of the incident of Kate Moss
as Heard claims, and “seven people” which referred to the members of the jury in
charge of the trial.

In the scope of grammatical analysis, the editor employed declarative

phrases to add new information and cover more incidents. Negation was another
grammatical device utilized by the editor to deny mentioning Depp's name in the
editorial of Heard. In addition to the passive voice that was used by the editor to
focus on the action of damaging reputation by false allegations.
 97

5. 1. 4. The Washington Post

Concerning the findings of the lexical analysis, various lexical words were
highlighted by the editor throughout the articles to emphasize a certain idea.

1.The editor used “unanimous” which described the decision of the jury as done by
agreement between the jury which consisted of seven judges. The lexical word
“overwhelmed” described Depp's state before the trial as he expressed.

2.The editor employed synonymous words such as “president” and “slam dunk
winner” which referred to “Johnny Depp” as his supporters called him. Other
synonyms were “film celebrities” and “Depp and Heard” both referred to the same
personalities but one by their name other by their career as famous people. The
antonyms were also used in these articles, “circus” and “the trial” refer to the same
idea but from different points of view.

3.As for metaphors, there are several metaphorical expressions used by the editor
such as “slam dunk” referring to Depp as a person who always wins and surely will
win. The metaphorical expression “rapid fire” described the way Vasquez was
asking questions to Amber Heard which was strong and rapid.

4.Moreover, the editor employed different numbers each one indicating a certain
date or amount such as the number “$15 million” referred to the amount of money
that Depp was rewarded in this trial. “third day” was another number that refers to
the period the jury has taken to deliberate the final decision. Another number was
“six weeks” which referred to the time that the trial took place. “$2 million” was
the amount of money Heard was awarded.
 98

In the scope of grammatical analysis, the editor employed declarative

sentences to inform readers of Depp and Heard's claims. coherent extracts were
also used to convey the full idea of claims and allegations consistently.

5. 2. Findings of Research Question 2

5. 2. 1. The Guardian

Many obvious ideologies could be drawn by the readers when reading The
Guardian articles.

1.From the beginning, the editors blamed the jury and the US procedures as the
reason behind Heard's loss in the trial. They accused the jurors of being affected by
the comments of Depp fans on social media since he had many supporters.
Moreover, they accused the procedures of the US courtroom in Virginia state of
allowing many things that shouldn’t be allowed inside the courtroom for instance
live streaming the trial of such sensitive issues.

3.In addition, the extracts presented women as more powerful since they called for
women's rights. As a result, they depicted Heard as a powerful woman who spoke
up against domestic abuse and tried to defend herself. It could be noticed that when
the editor was a woman she automatically biased to Heard.

4.Finally, the extracts highlighted the power and importance of media in our life
which could affect our lives and tip the scales towards or against something or
someone.

5. 2. 2. The Daily Telegraph

Many obvious ideologies could be drawn when reading The Telegraph

articles.
 99

1.The editors accused the jury of biasing to Depp rather than Heard and this
belongs to certain qualifications owned by Depp for instance he was a fantastic
actor who could deceive the jury into believing him.

2.The editors accused Depp of exaggeration by suing a lawsuit about publishing an

editorial that didn’t even mention his name. he and his attorneys were mocking
Heard and making fun of her.

3.The editors considered the decision of Heard's loss as a tipping point for #
MeToo in America. In addition to highlighting the power of the jury and
courtroom which could make important decisions concerning people's life.

5. 2. 3. The New York Times

Several ideologies could be drawn by the readers when reading The New
York Times articles.

1.The editors presented the jury with a neutral attitude concerning Depp and
Heard. Also, they compared the US and the UK laws and procedures which
allowed Depp to win in the US trial but lose in the UK one.

2.Depp's win was described as a victory because he was suffering and his
reputation was damaged by Heard's false allegations against him. He was depicted
as more powerful for trusting himself and his speech and for having more
supporters, fortune, and fame than Heard.

3.Each side or party in the trial wanted to prove himself/herself right in order to
gain the case so each one was claiming certain claims and the other was
counterclaiming the opposite.
 100

5. 2. 4. The Washington Post

Different ideologies could be drawn by when reading The Washington Post

articles.

1.The editors presented the jury and the details of the final decision with a neutral
attitude. The former couples were presented as both losers for exposing their
personal life in front of the public which could affect their life and careers.

2.Depp was presented as one of the most famous Hollywood celebrities with more
fame and a lot of followers who supported him and celebrated his gain, this could
give him the priority to gain the trial rather than Heard. In addition, Depp had
strong attorneys who defended him strongly and brought evidence to vindicate
him.

5. 3. Findings of Research Question 3

Following analysis, these similarities and differences between British and

American newspaper are concluded:

1.Concerning the ideological similarities, both presented the details of the trial and
quoted from different personalities inside and outside the court to emphasize the
ideas that they talked about. Moreover, they highlighted the importance and power
of media in our lives.

2.Concerning the ideological differences, British editors blamed US court

procedures and considered them as the cause of Heard’s loss. They also accused
Depp and his followers of exaggeration and mocking Heard. Moreover, they
considered Heard's loss as a tipping point for #MeToo in America. Finally, they
presented women as more powerful who could speak up and defend themselves.
 101

3.The American editors presented the trial as an ordinary one with a neutral
attitude. the former couples were presented as both losers for exposing their
sensitive issues to the public. They depicted Depp as a famous Hollywood
celebrity and as more powerful for having more fans, fame, and fortune. Finally,
his win was described as a victory.

5. 4. Recommendations

Following the aforementioned analysis, the present study recommends the

following:

1. Because newspapers are so rich in revealing concealed ideas, and as lexical and
linguistic elements are not randomly picked or used in newspapers, CDA analysts
have to be familiar with the terminology used in newspapers.

2. The selection of an analytical model that is most appropriate for data analysis
plays an important part in the types and description of the findings generated or
concluded.

3- Newspapers’ editors and reporters are urged to maintain as much objectivity as

possible while discussing topics that are closely related to social concerns,
particularly those involving celebrities or public figures.

5. 5. Suggestions for Further Studies

Several studies can be further developed and investigated out of this topic:

1. The newspaper reporting of the Depp-Heard trial can be investigated through a

semiotic, pragmatic, or multimodal study.

2. The media coverage of the Depp-Heard trial can be compared across different
English and Arabic media means to find any variations or similarities.
 102

3. The legal procedures of the Depp-Heard trial sessions, including the

communication of the two parties with both the advocates and the judges inside the
court, can be analyzed dialogically or conversationally.

4. The Depp-Heard trial can be investigated based on the reporting of social media
networks.

5. The celebrity-related issues can be investigated across online and social media
outlets to find how these issues are discussed across linguistic, cultural, and ethnic
domains.
 103

REFERENCES

Abdulsada, M.N. (2017). Reconciliation in critical times: A critical discourse

analysis of Obama’s speech in Cairo University & Sadat’s Speech in
Knesset. Lark Journal for Philosophy, Linguistics, & Social Sciences, 1(24),
1-14.
Abdulsada, M.N. (2022). Pragma-dialectic Interpretation of claiming in the Depp
vs. Heard trial. https://www.academia.edu/82889162/A_Pragma_dialectic_
Interpretation_of_Claiming_in_the_Depp_vs_Heard_Trial
Abramovitch, S. H. (1991). Publicity exploitation of celebrities: Protection of a
star's style in Quebec civil law. Les Cahiers de Droit, 32(2), 301-340
Ahmadvand, M. (2010). Critical discourse analysis: An introduction to major
approaches. University of Zanjan.
Al Ghazali, F. (2007). Critical discourse analysis: How can awareness of CDA
influence teaching techniques? The University of Salford.
Al Khazraji, N.H. (2018). Insights into CDA: Socio-cognitive Cultural Approach.
International Journal of English Linguistics, 8(2),115-132.
Alhusseini, H. (2020). Critical discourse analysis of ideological terror attacks in
selected media reports. Journal of Education College Wasit
University, 3(41), 497-517.
Allaw. (2023). The trial in a defamation lawsuit. alllaw.com
Amoussou, F. & Allagbe, A. (2018). Principles, theories & approaches to critical
discourse analysis. International Journal on Studies in English Language &
Literature (IJSELL, (6)1, 11-18.
Austin, B.J. (2014). Celebrities, drinks & drugs: Critical discourse analysis of
celebrity substance abuse as portrayed in New York Times. PhD
Dissertation,
Baker, P. & Ellece, S. (2011). Key terms in discourse analysis. Continuum
International Publishing Group.
Baxter, J. (2003). Positioning gender in discourse: A feminist methodology.
Palgrave Macmillan.
 104

Benke, G. (2000). Diskurs analyse als sozial wissenschaftliche Unter suchungs

methode. Rundschau., 2, 140-62.
Berg, B. (2001). Qualitative research methods for the social sciences. (4th ed.).
Allyn & Bacon.
Berg, M. & Wendt, S. (2011). Racism in the modern world: Historical perspectives
on transfer & adaptation. Berghahn Books.
Blitz, M. & Krasniewicz, L. (2008). Johnny Depp: A biography. Greenwood
Publishing Group.
Blommaert, J. (2005). Discourse: A critical introduction. Cambridge University
Press.
Blommaert, J. & Bulcaen, C. (2000). Critical discourse analysis. Annual Review of
Anthropology, 29(1), 447-466.
Bowman. V. (2022). Johnny Depp vs Amber Heard: 10 blockbuster moments from
the trial. The Telegraph. https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/
2022/06/01/johnny-depp-vs-amber-heard-blockbuster-moments-trial/
Briese, N. (2022). Johnny Depp & Amber Heard’s relationship timeline.
People.com. https://people.com/movies/johnny-depp-amber-heard-
relationship
Britannica, T. Editors of Encyclopedia. (2022). Johnny Depp. Encyclopedia
Britannica. https://www.britannica.com/biography/Johnny-Depp.
Campbell, C., Martin, R.C., & Fabos, B. (2016). Media & culture mass
communication. (10th ed.). Macmillan Learning.
Cheyney, A.B. (1992). Teaching reading skills through the newspaper.
International Published Group.
Chiluwa, I. (2011). Media representation of Nigeria’s joint military task force in
the Niger Delta crisis. International Journal of Humanities & Social
Science,1(15),197-208.
Chouliaraki, L. & Fairclough, N. (2007). Discourse in late modernity: Rethinking
critical discourse analysis. Edinburgh University Press.
 105

Civil Law Self-help Centre. (2023a). Overview of a trial. Civil law self-help
center.org. https://www.civillawselfhelpcenter.org/self-help/lawsuits-for-
money/trial-stage-your-day-in-court/249-overview-of-a-trial.
Civil Law Self-help Centre. (2023b). Types of cases. Civil law self-help center.org.
https://www.civillawselfhelpcenter.org/self-help/getting-started/court-basics
/56-types-of-cases.
Conboy, M. (2010). The language of newspapers. Continuum International
Publishing Group.
Craig, G. (2004). The media, politics & public life. National Library of Australia.
Creswell, J.W. (2012). Educational research: Planning, conducting & evaluating
quantitative & qualitative research. (4th ed.). Pearson.
Creswell, J.W. (2009). Research design: Qualitative, quantitative, & mixed
methods approach. Sage.
Curtis, B. (2006, October 25). Strange Days at the Daily Telegraph.
http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/letter_fromlondon/2006/10
/paper_tiger.html
Degaf, A., Wijana D.P., & Poedjosoedarmo, S. (2019). Textual analysis on
celebrity news in the online media. LiNGUA (14)2.
Denzin, N. & Lincoln, Y. (2011). The Sage handbook of qualitative research.
University of Illinois. Driven Discourses. International Journal of
Humanities & Social Science, 1 (16), 107-112.
Editors, TheFamousPeople.com. (n.d.). Johnny Depp Biography.
TheFamousPeople.com. https://www.thefamouspeople.com/profiles/john-
christopher-depp-ii-1979.php
Encyclopedia Britannica. (2023). The Guardian. In Encyclopedia Britannica.
https://www.britannica.com/topic/The-Guardian-British-newspaper
Encyclopedia Britannica. (2022). The Washington Post. In Encyclopedia
Britannica. https://www.britannica.com/topic/The-Washington-Post
Fairclough, N. & Wodak, R. (1997). Critical discourse analysis. In van Dijk, T.A.
(Ed.), discourse as social interaction: Discourse Studies 2 (A
multidisciplinary introduction). (pp.258-284). Sage.
 106

Fairclough, N. (1995a). Critical discourse analysis. Longman.

Fairclough, N. (2001). Language & power. Longman.
Fairclough, N. (1995b). Discourse & social change. Polity Press.
Foucault, M. (1973). The order of things: An archaeology of the human sciences.
Vintage Books.
Fowler, R. (1991). Language in news: Discourse & ideology in the press.
Routledge.
Franklin, B. (2008). Pulling newspapers apart. Routledge.
Gabler, N. (1998). Live the movie. Knopf.
Gallagher, T. (2022). How did they get here? A complete timeline of Johnny Depp
& Amber Heard’s relationship. Euro news.com.
https://www.euronews.com/culture/2022/04/21/how-did-they-get-here-a-
complete-timeline-of-johnny-depp-and-amber-heard-s-relationship
Gamson, W., Croteau, D., Hoynes, W., & Sasson, T. (1992). Media images & the
social construction of reality. Review of Sociology, 18, 373-393.
Gans, H. (1979). Deciding what’s news. Pantheon Books.
George, B. (2015). Five common types of civil cases.
https://www.brentgeorgelaw.com/five-common-types-of-civil-cases/
Hamilton, J. (1959). Straight to the source newspapers. ABDO Publishing
Company.
Hart, C. (2010). Critical discourse analysis & cognitive science: New perspectives
on immigration discourse. Palgrave Macmillan.
Hazim, S. & Alhusseini, H. (2019). Climate change from the political & scientific
perspectives: A critical discourse analysis. Journal of Education College
Wasit University, 1(37).
Heard, A. (2013). Amber Heard. The John Carpenter Handbook-Everything you
need to know about John Carpenter, 39.
https://www.alllaw.com/articles/nolo/civil-litigation/trial-defamation-
lawsuit.html
Horn, L., R. (1989). A natural history of negation. The university of Chicago press.
 107

Hornby, A. (2000). Oxford advanced learner’s dictionary of current English.

Oxford University Press.
Howell, K. (2013). An introduction to the philosophy of methodology. Sage
Publications Ltd.
Ibrahim, E. (2012). Newspapers coverage of the Egyptian January 25 revolution:
A framing analysis. Master’s Thesis, American University of Cairo.
Jahedi, M., Abdullah, F.S. & Mukundan, J. (2014). An overview of focal
approaches of critical discourse analysis. International Journal of Education
& Literacy Studies, 2 (4), 28-35.
Jennings, J. & Rubado, M. (2019). Newspaper decline & the effect on local. The
University of Texas.
Johnson, R. & Christensen, L. (2014). Educational research: Quantitative,
qualitative, & mixed approaches (5th ed.). Sage Publications.
Johnson, S. & Milani, M.T. (2010). Language ideologies & media discourse.
Continuum International Publishing Group.
Johnstone, N. (2013). Johnny Depp: The illustrated biography. Carlton Books
Limited.
Kabir, M.S. (2016). Basic guidelines for research: An introductory approach for
all disciplines. Book Zone.
Kumar, R. (2011). Research methodology: A step-by-step guide for beginners. (3rd
ed.). Sage.
Lavoie, D. (2022). Jury sides with Johnny Depp on the lawsuit, Heard on
counterclaim. Toronto star. https://www.thestar.com/news/world/us/
2022/06/01/jury-deliberating-for-third-day-in-depp-heard-libel-trial.html
Lester, P. (2013). Visual communication: Images with messages. Cengage
Learning.
Liebes, T. & Curran, J. (1998). Media, ritual & Identity. Routledge.
Littlejohn, S.W. & Foss, K.A. (2009). Encyclopedia of communication theory.
Sage.
Lumby, C. (1999). Gotcha: Life in a tabloid world. Allen & Unwin.
 108

Madani, D., Dasrath, D., & Hamedy, S. (2022). Johnny Depp wins defamation suit
against Amber Heard. NEWS. Jurors reached a verdict in the Amber Heard-
Johnny Depp Trial (nbcnews.com)
Malkawi, M. (2012). The ideological stamp: Translation of political discourse in
news media. Write Scope Publication.
Marcus, T. (2015). A discourse analysis of celebrity stories in British & American
Tabloids. University of Zlin, Faculty of Humanities.
McCafferty, D. (2005). At issue: Do the media devote too much attention to
celebrities? CQ Researcher, 15(11), 261.
McEnery, T. & Wilson, A. (1996). Corpus linguistics. Edinburgh university press.
Miller, T. (1997). Functional approaches to writing text: Classroom applications.
Programs. United States Information Agency.
Mills, S. (1997). Discourse. Routledge.
Mooney, A. & Evans, B. (2015). Language, society & power: An introduction.
(4thed). Routledge.
Murphy, A. (2022). Johnny Depp wins libel case against Amber Heard. Here’s
how people are Reacting. Toronto star.
https://www.thestar.com/entertainment /movies/2022/06/01/johnny-depp-
wins-libel-case-against-amber-heard-heres-how-people-are-reacting.html
Nasih, R.K. (2020). A critical discourse analysis of two Iraqi politician speeches in
terms of van Dijk’s socio-cognitive model. Journal of Basra Research for
Human Sciences. 3(45) 33-45.
Nicole, B. (2022). Johnny Depp & Amber Heard timeline relationship.
People.com. https://people.com/movies/johnny-depp-amber-heard-
relationship-timeline/
O’Keeffe, A. (2006). Investigating media discourse. Routledge.
Paltridge, B. (2012). Discourse analysis: An introduction. Bloomsbury Publishing.
Parcel, I., Muir, E. (2023). Amber Heard lifetime. Independent.co.uk.
https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/films/features/amber-
heard-depp-channel-4-b2343077.html
 109

Patterson, T. (2000). Doing well & doing good: How soft news are shrinking the
news audience & weakening Democracy. Harvard University Press.
Peter, J. & Leuven, K. (2003). Agenda-rich, Agenda-poor: A cross-national
comparative investigation of nominal & thematic public agenda diversity.
International Journal of Public Opinion Research,10, 44-64.
Polkinghorne, D. E. (2005). Language & meaning: Data collection in qualitative
research. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 52(2), 137-145.
Gamson, W., Croteau, D., Hoynes, W., & Sasson, T. (1992). Media images & the
social construction of reality. Annual Review of Sociology, 18, 373-393.
Rahimi, F. & Riasati, M.J. (2011). Critical discourse analysis: Scrutinizing
ideologically-driven discourses. International Journal of Humanities and
Social Science, 1 (16), 107-112.
Reah, D. (1998). The language of newspapers. Routledge.
Reisigl, M. & Wodak, R. (2001). Discourse & discrimination: Rhetorics of racism
& Antisemitism. Routledge.
Richardson, J.E. (2007). Analyzing newspaper: An approach from critical
discourse analysis. Palgrave Macmillan.
Rizk, A. (1994). Theories of persuasion methods: A comparative study. (1sted.).
Dar El Safwa.
Rogers, R. (2011). An introduction to critical discourse analysis in education.
Routledge.
Sblendorio, P. (2022). The key moments in the Johnny Depp, Amber Heard
defamation trial as the jury deliberates. Toronto star.
https://www.thestar.com/ news/world/2022/05/31/the-key-moments-in-the-
johnny-depp-amber-heard-defamation-trial-as-the-jury-deliberates.html
Schopenhauer, A. (1851). The wisdom of life. Walter Dunne.
Sen, A. (2011). Peace & democratic Society. CIC Ltd.
Septiani, A. (2014). The representation of major participants in Bambang
Widjojanto’s arrest in The Jakarta Post articles: A critical discourse analysis.
Passage, 2(3), 1-20.
 110

Shank, G. (2002). Qualitative research: A personal skills approach. Prentice Hall.

Shuaibu, U., Soye, A.H., & Cletus, F.S. (2013). A statistical analysis of the
syntactic features & cohesive devices in the columnists’ use of English
language in the Nigerian newspapers. European Journal of Research &
Reflection in Arts & Humanities, 1(1) 22-30.
Soares, L.A. (2017). Analysis of Super Noticia popular newspaper through a
critical & multimodal perspective, 61(3) 657-679. Alfa.
Steel, J. & Conboy, M. (2008). The future of newspapers: Historical perspectives.
Journalism Studies, 9 (5),650-661.
Stibbe, A. (2015). Ecolinguistics: Language, ecology & the stories we live by.
Routledge.
Susanto, E.H. & Silviana Dharma Zhang. (2017). Critical discourse analysis of
interfaith marriage news from cyber media in Indonesia. Journal of
Educational & Social Research (JESR), 7(1) 91-100.
Talbat, M. (2007). Media discourse: Representation & interaction. Edinburgh
University Press.
Tannen, D., Hamilton, E.H., & Schiffrin, D. (2015). The handbook of discourse
analysis. (2nd ed.). John Wiley & Sons.
Teo, P. (2000). Racism in the news: A critical discourse analysis of news reporting
in two Australian newspapers. Discourse & Society, 11(1), 7-49.
The famous people, Editors. Amber Heard Biography. TheFamousPeople.com.
https://www.thefamouspeople.com/profiles/amber-heard-14522.php.
The Guardian. (2022). https://www.theguardian.com
The New York Times. (2022). www.nytimes.com
The Telegraph. (2022). www.telegraph.co.uk
The Washington Post. (2022). https://www.washingtonpost.com
Thomas, J. (1995). Meaning in interaction: An introduction to pragmatics.
Longman.
Tomandl, J. (2012). Public relations a zpravodajství: Vliv hluboké proměny
žurnalistiky na teorii a praxi vztahů s médii. Zlín: VeRBuM.
 111

Turow, J. (2020). Media today: Mass communication in a conveying world (7th

ed.). Routledge.
van Dijik, T.A. (2006b). Ideology & discourse analysis. Journal of Political
Ideologies.1(2),115-140.
van Dijk, T.A. & Kintsch, W. (1983). Strategies of discourse comprehension.
Academic Press.
van Dijk, T.A. (1993). Principles of critical discourse analysis, Discourse &
Society, 4(2), 249-283.
van Dijk, T.A. (1995). Discourse analysis as ideology analysis. Harwood.
van Dijk, T. A. (1996). Discourse, cognition & society. Discourse & Society, 7(1),
5-6.
van Dijk, T. (2000). Ideology & discourse: A multidisciplinary introduction. Sage.
van Dijk, T. (2001). Critical discourse analysis. In D. Schiffrin, D. Tannen & H.
Hamilton, The Handbook of discourse analysis, (2nd ed., pp.466-486).
Blackwell.
van Dijk, T.A. (1997). Discourse as structure & process (Discourse studies: A
multidisciplinary introduction). Sage Publications.
van Dijk, T.A. (2003). Discourse, ideology, & context. Mediator Jurnal
komunikasi, 4(2), 325-346.
van Dijk, T. A. (2006a). Politics, ideology, & discourse. In R. Wodak (Ed.),
Elsevier encyclopedia of language & linguistics (pp.728-740). Universitat
Pompeu Fabra.
van Dijk, T.A. (2008). Discourse & context: A sociocognitive approach.
Cambridge University Press.
van Dijk, T.A. (1991). Racism & the press. Routledge.
van Dijk, T.A. (2007). Discourse studies. doi:10.4135/9781446261415.
van Dijk, T.A. (2009). Society & discourse: How social contexts influence text &
talk. Cambridge University Press.
van Djik, T.A. (2014). Discourse-cognition-society: Current state & prospects of
the socio-cognitive approach to discourse. In C. Hart, & P. Cap, (Eds.),
 112

Contemporary studies in critical discourse analysis (pp.121-146).

Bloomsbury.
Wallace, C. (2003). Critical discourse analysis & critical reading. Peter Lang.
Whannel, G. (2010). News, celebrity, & vortextuality: a study of the media
coverage of the Michael Jackson verdict. Cultural Politics, 6(1) 65-84.
Wash Post PR. (2018, April 13). The Washington Post’s digital traffic jumps to
89.7 million in March 2018, up 7% from last month.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/pr/wp/2018/04/13/the-washington-post-
digital-trafficjumps-to-89-7-million-in-march-2018-up-7-from-last-month
Weiss, G. & Wodak, R. (2003). Critical discourse analysis: Theory &
interdisciplinarity. Palgrave Macmillan.
White, D. (2011). Johnny Depp: The unauthorized biography. Michael O’Mara
Books.
Whiting, J.B. (2017). Johnny Depp, Amber Heard, & the reasons we blame
victims. Faculty Publications. 2705.
https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/facpub/2705
Whynot, C.N. (2020). Retaliatory defamation suits: The legal silencing of the
#MeToo movement. Tulane Law Review Online, 94, 1.
Widdowson, H.G. (2007). Discourse analysis. Oxford University Press.
Wiluna, I. (2018). Senior highs school EFL teacher & students’ use of classroom
language. JEES (Journal of English Educators Society).
Wodak, R. (1999). Critical discourse analysis at the end of the 20th century.
Research on Language & Social Interaction, 32(2), 185-93.
Wodak, R. (2000). Does sociolinguistics need social theory? New perspectives on
critical discourse analysis. Discourse & Society, 2 (3) 123-147.
Wodak, R. (2008). Introduction: Discourse studies — Important concepts & terms.
Qualitative Discourse Analysis in the Social Sciences, 1-29.
Wodak, R. & Meyer, M. (2009). Methods of critical discourse analysis (2nd ed.).
Sage Publication.
 113

Wodak, R. & Meyer, M. (2001). Methods of critical discourse analysis. Sage

Publications.
Wooffitt, R. (2005). Conversation analysis & discourse analysis: A comparative &
critical introduction. Sage.
Biography by Contactmusic.com. (n.d.). Johnny Depp biography.
https://www.contactmusic.com/
Yin, R. (1994). Case study: Research design & methods (2nd ed.). Sage
publication.
Zaeni, F. (2016). The representation of Mount Slamet disaster in The online media
of Tempo & Time. Passage, 4(1), 19-40.
Zaher, A. (2009). A Critical discourse analysis of news reports on the Israeli/
Palestinian conflict in selected Arab & Western newspapers. PhD
Dissertation, Nottingham University.
Zulfie, V., Asrumi, A., & Sariono, A. (2023). Distorted Korean idol’s scandal,
deceitful media, & the role of forensic linguistics. Jurnal Arbiter, 10(1) 97–106.
 114

APPENDIX A

1. The Guardian

1. 1. “What did Depp vs Heard teach us? That justice and reality TV are incompatible”

By: Catherine Bennett (observer columnist), 5 June 2022

[Bennet, 2022, extract 1] The US defamation trial has shown us how ‘transparency’ in court
translates, which is into a festival of misogyny. Asked on CBS about losing Depp v Heard,
Amber Heard’s lawyer, Elaine Bredehoft, put much of the blame on the courtroom cameras and
the brutal atmosphere they generated. “It was like a Roman colosseum.” Actually, for the
squeamish, it was much nicer than that.

[Bennet, 2022, extract 2] Those of us watching Depp’s lawyer, Camille Vasquez, dismember
Heard could claim to be acting in a spirit of sober inquiry and debate, motivated purely by the
wish to advance understanding of US legal procedures. For instance, I learned, between gawping
at Heard’s ornate plaits and Vasquez’s white costumes, that it’s legal in the state of Virginia for
cameras to Livestream a celebrity witness offering excruciating testimony about sexual abuse,
yards from her alleged assailant.

[Bennet, 2022, extract 3] Another lesson: the arid findings of two UK courts cannot compete, in
a US one, with lashings of Technicolor “Darvo” (“deny, attack, and reverse victim and
offender”, a common defence tactic in sexual assault and domestic violence trials).

[Bennet, 2022, extract 4] And another: it does not conflict with the administration of US justice,
in particular the principle that people are equal before the law if a celebrity witness knows
millions of viewers are scrutinising her face and body language while opposition experts
speculate on the consequences of her alleged personality disorder.

[Bennet, 2022, extract 5] Did Heard cry in court or not? Diligent students recalled that her acting
coach testified that Heard struggled “acting wise” to produce real tears when performing. On the
other hand, non-acting-wise – this point seems not to have registered so widely – the coach often
saw Heard in real tears.
 115

[Bennet, 2022, extract 6] Now, courtesy of the intensive Heard-Depp course in judicial fairness,
we have a good understanding of how much commitment to total courtroom transparency is
likely to translate, once online supporters are engaged, into a surge of woman-hating abuse and
memes. Of this, Bredehoft said, the jury, in this case, must have been aware. “They have
weekends, they have families, they have social media,” she said.

[Bennet, 2022, extract 7] There was also a 10-day break allowing for further absorption of tribal
online feeling before jurors returned to a courtroom besieged by #justiceforJohnny supporters:
“How could they not have been influenced?” Bredehoft was duly pilloried for sour grapes, on
social media.

[Bennet, 2022, extract 8]She’d seen it coming. In February, arguing against live broadcasting,
Bredehoft prophesied how existing “anti-Amber networks” would use resulting videos. “What
they’ll do is take anything unfavourable – a look,” she said. “They’ll take out of context a
statement and play it over and over and over and over again.” This is precisely what has
happened,

[Bennet, 2022, extract 9]as if Heard’s inconsistencies (on charitable donations) were not,
without added monstering, enough. Depp’s lawyers, judged by his fans’ previous efforts during
his London libel suit, had more to gain from the harvesting of such material. “Mr Depp believes
in transparency,” his lawyer said. The judge, Penney Azcarate, whose sole decision it was to
Livestream or not, concluded that the public did need more, on this occasion, than old school
reporting and illustrations: “I don’t see any good cause not to do it.”

[Bennet, 2022, extract 10]Maybe the resulting festival of misogyny would not have been
predictable to any judge unfamiliar with social media, with the tendencies of the manosphere, or
with the escalating ambitions of courtroom broadcasters. It’s harder to understand why a judge
would not understand the specific risks of live broadcasting a case involving allegations of
sexual violence, along with its potentially inhibiting impact on future witnesses.

[Bennet, 2022, extract 11] A Stanford Law School lawyer, Professor Michele Dauber, has called
Azcarate’s decision “the single worst decision I can think of in the context of intimate partner
violence and sexual violence in recent history”.
 116

[Bennet, 2022, extract 12]The deterrent effect on female victims, once reporting a crime doubles
as an audition for courtroom broadcasting, is only one way in which compelled public
performance conflicts with justice. How is justice served by a courtroom becoming complicit
with the values of mass entertainment?

[Bennet, 2022, extract 13]With Depp v Heard considered broadcastable, restraint in other courts
can be portrayed, as it mistakenly was by conspiracy-minded elements of the Ghislaine Maxwell
audience, as a sinister cover-up. It confers unwarranted influence on editors, and on the
courtroom broadcasters whose profits soared as their exposure of Heard elicited more online
mockery, more clicks, and more histrionic tweets depicting the case as a duel.

[Bennet, 2022, extract 1]Court TV: “Do YOU think there is going to be a clear winner in the
end??” With the help of Heard, who says she is unable to pay the millions she owes in damages,
Court TV doubled its daytime ratings. UK viewers discovered a new and cheaper alternative to
Netflix.

[Bennet, 2022, extract 15]When British broadcasters last agitated for televised courtrooms, it
was on the then plausible basis that this innovation – as well as providing cheap content – would
educate viewers and improve openness. Writing to the prime minister in 2012, representatives of
the BBC, ITN and Sky said: “For too long the UK has lagged behind much of the rest of the
world on open justice. The time has come for us to catch up.” Before online death threats and
abusive TikTok memes, the main admitted risk of court broadcasting was usually its exploitation
by certain defendants, such as the mass murderer Anders Behring Breivik.

[Bennet, 2022, extract 16]But presciently a spokesman for Victim Support argued that, while the
justice system needed to be more transparent, “this does not mean that court cases should
become a new form of reality TV”.Even if the transformation of one celebrity defamation trial,
via live streaming, into the sustained, one-sided demonising of its female participant does not
amount to a case for restriction, Depp v Heard casts serious doubt on broadcasters’ claims about
enhanced confidence and transparency. How is justice served by a courtroom becoming
complicit with the values of mass entertainment? If anything, the live-streaming, with the
associated character assassination, has added to uncertainty, for many spectators at this circus,
about the relative importance of legal argument as opposed to the popularity of the combatants.
 117

[Bennet, 2022, extract 17] As for fairness, is it fair to force civilians, even actor-civilians, to
perform for justice? Either way, what a boon for her adversaries that Amber Heard never got the
hang of fake crying.

1. 2. “The Amber Heard-Johnny Depp trial was an orgy of misogyny”

By: Moira Donegan, 1 June 2022

[Dongan, 2022, extract 1] The backlash to #Me Too has long been underway. But this feels like a
tipping point

[Dongan, 2022, extract 2] In text messages to friends, Johnny Depp fantasized about murdering
his then-wife, the actress Amber Heard. “I will fuck her burnt corpse afterwards to make sure
she’s dead,” Depp wrote. In other texts, he disparaged his wife’s body in luridly misogynist
terms. “Mushy pointless dangling overused floppy fish market,” he called her.

[Dongan, 2022, extract 3] The texts became public as part of Depp’s defamation suit against
Heard, now at trial in a Virginia court. Ostensibly, Depp is suing over a 2018 article that Heard
published in the Washington Post, titled “I spoke up against sexual violence – and faced our
culture’s wrath.” In the piece, the actress writes, “Two years ago, I became a public figure
representing domestic abuse.” The article does not mention Depp, but his lawyers say that the
piece was about him – and was defamatory. For those 11 words, Depp sought $50m. A jury
thought he deserved $15m.

[Dongan, 2022, extract 4] On Wednesday, the case’s verdict came in, finding that Heard
defamed Depp, acting with “malice,” when she described herself as a victim of domestic abuse.
Bizarrely, the same jury found that one of Depp’s lawyers defamed Heard when he accused her
of staging a “hoax” scene of abuse to which police were called at the couple’s home. The verdict
came after a trial that was televised – an extremely rare situation for a proceeding that concerns
allegations of domestic violence – and which was subject to almost inescapable media coverage,
nearly all of it in favour of one litigant, even as the jury was not sequestered. The strange,
illogical, and unjust ruling has the effect of sanctioning Depp’s alleged abuse of Heard and
punishing Heard for speaking about it. It will have a devastating effect on survivors, who will be
silenced, now, with the knowledge that they cannot speak about their violent experiences at
 118

men’s hands without the threat of a ruinous libel suit. In that sense, women’s speech just became
a lot less free.

[Dongan, 2022, extract 5] Over the past six weeks, as the trial was live-streamed online, many of
those who have tuned in to watch have treated Heard with the same contempt that Depp did in
his texts. A broad consensus has emerged online that Heard must be lying about her abuse. She
has been accused of faking the photos of her injuries from Depp’s alleged beatings, painting
bruises on with makeup. She’s been accused of convincing the multiple witnesses who say Depp
abused her to lie – repeatedly and under oath – for years. These conspiracy theories are
unsupported by the facts of the case, but that has not stopped them from spreading. Online, the
case has taken on a heady mythology, and belief in Depp’s righteousness persists independent of
the evidence.

[Dongan, 2022, extract 6] In the service of this myth, any cruelty can be justified. When Heard
took the stand, she became emotional as she recounted how Depp allegedly hit her, manipulated
and controlled her, surveilled her and sexually assaulted her. Afterwards, ordinary people, along
with a few celebrities and even brands like Duolingo and Milani, took to social media to mock or
undermine Heard. They took screenshots of her weeping face and made it a meme. Many
performed mocking re-enactments of her testimony, lip-syncing along as she recounted the
alleged abuse. The audio of her crying became a TikTok trend. This cruelty has now been joined
in and compounded by the jury, who have gone beyond mocking her for telling her story, and
now declared that she broke the law by doing so.

[Dongan, 2022, extract 7] This is not the first time Depp has sued over the allegations. In 2020, a
British court heard Depp’s lawsuit against the British tabloid The Sun, which Depp sued for
defamation after an article referred to him as a “wife beater”. UK courts are much more
amenable to defamation claims than American ones, but Depp still couldn’t prevail: the British
judge found that the Sun’s characterization of Depp was “substantially true”. That same trial
found that Depp physically abused Heard on at least 12 occasions. Yet the actor and his fans
claim that it was Heard, not Depp, who was the abuser in their marriage.

[Dongan, 2022, extract 8] The trial has turned into a public orgy of misogyny. While most of the
vitriol is nominally directed at Heard, it is hard to shake the feeling that really, it is directed at all
 119

women – and in particular, at those of us who spoke out about gendered abuse and sexual
violence during the height of the #MeToo movement. We are in a moment of virulent
antifeminist backlash, and the modest gains that were made in that era are being retracted with a
gleeful display of victim-blaming at a massive scale. One woman has been made into a symbol
of a movement that many view with fear and hatred, and she’s being punished for that
movement. In this way, Heard is still in an abusive relationship. But now, it’s not just with Depp,
but with the whole country.

[Dongan, 2022, extract 9] Since she published her Post piece, Heard’s life has been consumed by
the rage and retaliation of Depp and his fans. Lost in the scandal and spectacle of the lawsuit has
been this reality: it is Heard, not Depp, who has been put on trial, and she is on trial for saying
things whose truth is evidenced by the very fact of the lawsuit itself. Depp’s frivolous and
punitive suit, and the frenzy of misogynist contempt for Heard that has accompanied it, have
done a great deal to vindicate Heard’s original point: that women are punished for coming
forward. What happens to women who allege abuse? They get publicly pilloried, professionally
blacklisted, socially ostracized, mocked endlessly on social media and sued.

[Dongan, 2022, extract 10] Wrath, indeed. But mainstream coverage of the trial has not seemed
to grasp this. Instead, there’s been tremendous focus on Heard’s mistakes and worst moments
throughout her relationship with Depp. As is typical of domestic abuse victims, Heard does seem
to have done things many of us would not be proud of. She fought back. Depp’s outbursts and
insults left Heard resentful and angry with him, and sometimes, she told him so. Many are quick
to point out that Heard is not a perfect victim. But no woman is.

[Dongan, 2022, extract 11] We are told that the lawsuit is “complicated.” But the lawsuit is not
complicated. It is abuse. Now, that abuse has been sanctioned by a jury. Maybe the persistence of
this notion that Heard is somehow equally culpable for what happened to her is why people like
the New York Times’s Michelle Goldberg have characterized the trial as “the death of Me Too”:
it shows how easily a victim can still be blamed and isolated, how easily what happened to her
can be taken as a failure of her character, rather than as part of a social pattern.

[Dongan, 2022, extract 12] Not all women are alike, but feminism was supposed to let us see
how we are all similarly vulnerable – both to gendered abuse and to the gendered application of
 120

double standards and unjust blame. No victim is perfect. No victim should have to be. After all,
if a man cannot be considered abusive towards an imperfect woman, then just how perfect does a
woman need to be before it becomes wrong to beat her? For their part, Depp’s fans seem to not
so much deny Depp’s alleged violence against Heard but to approve of it. “He could have killed
you,” says one viral Tiktok supporting Depp, the text superimposed over photos of Heard’s
bruised face. “He had every right.” The post has more than 222,200 likes.

[Dongan, 2022, extract 13] The backlash to #Me Too has long been underway. Critics of the
movement painted women’s efforts to end sexual violence as excessive and intemperate from the
start, claiming #MeToo had “gone too far” before it got underway at all. And yet the Heard trial
does feel like a tipping point in our culture’s response to gender violence. The forces of
misogynist reaction are perhaps even stronger now for having been temporarily repressed. Where
once women refused, en masse, to keep men’s secrets, or to remain silent about the truth of their
own lives, now, a resurgence of sexism, virulent online harassment, and the threat of lawsuits, all
aim to compel women back into silence – by force.

[Dongan, 2022, extract 14] In some ways, one could see the defamation suit itself as an
extension of Depp’s abuse of Heard, a way to prolong his humiliation and control over her. The
only difference is that now, the legal system and the public have been conscripted to take part.
This seems to be at least partly how Depp sees it. In 2016, as their marriage broke apart, Depp
texted his friend, Christian Carino, vowing revenge against Heard. “She is begging for global
humiliation,” Depp wrote. “She is going to get it.”
 121

APPENDIX B

2. The Daily Telegraph articles

2. 1. “Johnny Depp and Amber Heard are both losers in their bitter courtroom battle –
here’s why”

Under the surface of the spectacle were some serious allegations from which they may never
personally and professionally recover

By Jamie Johnson, 28 May 2022

[Johnson, 2022, extract 1 ] As the blockbuster six-week defamation trial between Johnny Depp
and Amber Heard drew to a close, the courtroom in Fairfax, Virginia burst into spontaneous
applause to congratulate the stenographer who transcribed every detail.

[Johnson, 2022, extract 2 ]The drink, the drugs, the severed finger, the faeces in the bed, Kate
Moss, the witness who gave his testimony while vaping in a car, the bodyguard who gave a
homeless man $420 (£333) to get Mr Depp’s phone back after Ms Heard threw it out a window
during a fight. It was all there.

[Johnson, 2022, extract 3 ]A jury of seven must now decide if Ms Heard defamed Mr Depp after
she wrote in an op-ed for The Washington Post that she was “a public figure representing
domestic abuse”. The article never mentioned Mr Depp, 58, by name, but he sued her for $50
million (£40 million). His lawyer told jurors it was clear that Ms Heard was referring to him and
that he denies the claims. Ms Heard, 36, countersued for $100 million (£79 million), saying Mr
Depp smeared her when his lawyer called her accusations a “hoax”.

[Johnson, 2022, extract 4] For 24 days, the former couple have engaged in a dramatic,
destructive trial which has played out live on television, and had its highlights clipped and shared
all over social media. One Twitter user asked, about the Coleen Rooney v. Rebekah
Vardy celebrity defamation trial at the High Court in London: Do the winners of Vardy v
Rooney and Heard v Depp meet in the final But under the surface of the spectacle were some
incredibly serious allegations and troubling evidence from which the pair may never
personally and professionally recover. The court was visibly shocked by texts Mr Depp sent to
 122

Paul Bettany, the British actor, in which he spoke about murdering his former wife. “Let’s drown
her before we burn her!!! I will f--- her burnt corpse afterwards to make sure she’s dead,” Mr
Depp wrote. He told the court that they were made about a Monty Python sketch about burning
witches. Ms Heard grimaced.

[Johnson, 2022, extract 5] There were two versions of most stories. The worst of the violence
allegedly came in March 2015 in Australia, where Mr Depp was filming the fifth Pirates of the
Caribbean film, Salazar’s Revenge. It was in Australia that Mr Depp lost the tip of his finger, but
their accounts of how that happened differed. Ms Heard said that they started fighting over Mr
Depp’s alleged MDMA drug use and that she snatched a bottle of alcohol from him and smashed
it on the floor. He reacted by throwing wine glasses and bottles at her, grabbing her by the neck,
punching her in the face and threatening to “carve it up” with a broken bottle. At one point, he
said he wanted to kill her, she testified.

Afterwards, she claimed he sexually assaulted her by penetrating her with a bottle of alcohol,
causing her to bleed. He then punched a telephone affixed to the wall and severed his finger, she
said.

[Johnson, 2022, extract 6] Mr Depp’s recollection of the encounter was somewhat different. He
said that the argument started because she became “irate” during a discussion about a post-
nuptial agreement. He said that she was slinging insults at him, so he went to the bar to pour
himself a shot. Ms Heard, he said, grabbed a bottle and threw it at him, but it struck the wall
behind. She then threw a second bottle which shattered on impact and severed his finger, he
claimed.

[Johnson, 2022, extract 7] The High Court in London has already found that Mr Depp assaulted
Ms Heard on a dozen occasions, but this trial on American soil is being seen in some quarters as
a watershed moment for the MeToo movement in the US. Mr Depp’s lawyers say that she is not
part of it. Camille Vasquez, who has become a breakout star of the trial in her own right after a
meticulous cross-examination of Ms Heard, attacked the slew of claims as “an act of profound
cruelty to true survivors of domestic abuse”.

[Johnson, 2022, extract 8] The public is not on Ms Heard’s side, either, with many people
lapping up claims that she used make-up to fake bruises, doctored photographs to manufacture
 123

her injuries and collaborated with tabloid media to expose her ex-husband as a “wife-beater”
during their divorce proceedings.

[Johnson, 2022, extract 9] “Believe all women… except Amber Heard,” joked Chris Rock, the
comedian. Battle scars will run deep. Benjamin Rottenborn, Ms Heard’s lawyer, retorted: “If you
didn’t take pictures, it didn’t happen. If you did take pictures, they’re fake. If you didn’t tell your
friends, they’re lying. If you did tell your friends, they’re part of the hoax. “If you didn’t seek
medical treatment, you weren’t injured. If you did seek medical treatment, you’re crazy. If you
do everything that you can to help your spouse, the person you love, rid himself of the crushing
drug and alcohol abuse that spins him into a rage-filled monster, you’re a nag.”

[Johnson, 2022, extract 10] Mr Rottenborn added: “A ruling against Amber here sends a message
that no matter what you do, as an abuse victim, you always have to do more. No matter what you
document, you always have to document more. No matter whom you tell, you always have to tell
more people.”

For that reason, the battle scars will run deep after this trial and its significance will stretch
further than which multi-millionaire has to pay up.

2. 2. “Amber Heard: I don’t blame jury for siding with Johnny Depp”

Actress claims that star struck jury at the defamation case against ex-husband played a part in her
defeat

By Rozina Sabur,13 June 2022

[Sabur, 2022, extract 1] Amber Heard has suggested that she lost her high-profile defamation
battle against Johnny Depp because her ex-husband is a “fantastic actor” whom “people feel they
know”. The 36-year-old broke her silence on the trial to detail the “hate and vitriol” she received
online in an interview with the Today programme on NBC News.

“You cannot tell me that you think that this has been fair,” she said.

[Sabur, 2022, extract 2] In a preview clip, Heard said of the jury: “I don’t blame them. I actually
understand. He’s a beloved character and people feel they know him. He’s a fantastic actor.”
 124

She was pushed on the verdict by Savannah Guthrie, the NBC interviewer, who told the actress:
“Their job is to not be dazzled by that. Their job is to look at the facts and evidence and they did
not believe your testimony or your evidence.” Heard added: “Again, how could they after
listening to three-and-a-half weeks of testimony about how I was a non-credible person, how not
to believe a word that came out of my mouth?”

[Sabur, 2022, extract 3] Speaking about the messages she has received online, she said: “I don’t
care what one thinks about me or what judgments you want to make about what happened in the
privacy of my own home, in my marriage, behind closed doors.

“I don’t presume the average person should know those things. And so I don’t take it personally.
“But even somebody who is sure I’m deserving of all this hate and vitriol, even if you think that
I’m lying, you still couldn’t look me in the eye and tell me that you think on social media there’s
been a fair representation.

“You cannot tell me that you think that this has been fair.”

[Sabur, 2022, extract 4] A jury in Virginia concluded that a 2018 article Heard wrote for The
Washington Post about her experiences as a survivor of domestic abuse was defamatory
and awarded $10.35 million (£8.2 million) in damages to Depp.

Heard won on one count of her countersuit, successfully arguing that Depp’s press agent
defamed her by claiming her allegations were “an abuse hoax” aimed at capitalising on the
MeToo movement. The jury awarded her $2 million (£1.5 million) in damages.

[Sabur, 2022, extract 5] Depp previously lost a similar trial in the UK which he brought against
the publisher of The Sun newspaper after an article, also written in 2018, which referred to him
as a “wife-beater”.

Heard’s full interview will air on Tuesday and Wednesday’s editions of NBC News’ Today
programme, with further footage airing on Friday during a special Dateline show in the US. The
interview will be available on Today.com following the broadcast.
 125

APPENDIX C

3. The New York Times:

3. 1. “Johnny Depp’s Win in Court Could Embolden Others, Lawyers Say”

By: Julia Jacobs, 2 June 2022

[Jacobs, 2022, extract 1] The actor’s victory against his ex-wife Amber Heard in one of the
highest-profile defamation cases to go to trial could inspire others to try their luck with juries.

[Jacobs, 2022, extract 2] As the #MeToo movement fueled a public airing of sexual assault and
misconduct allegations, defamation lawsuits quickly became a tool for both the accused and
accusers to seek retribution and redemption. Men accused of misconduct have increasingly
turned to defamation suits to try to clear their names, as have victims accused of making false
allegations. But between the high costs of lawyers’ fees and the fears of revealing embarrassing
details in open court, many such cases are settled before they ever reach trial.

[Jacobs, 2022, extract 3] The bitter legal battle between the actor Johnny Depp and his ex-wife
Amber Heard was closely watched in part because it was one of the highest-profile defamation
cases to make it to trial recently, and several lawyers said that Mr Depp’s victory in a Virginia
court on Wednesday — when he was awarded more than $10 million in damages — could
embolden others accused of abuse or misconduct to try their luck with juries, despite the real
risks of airing dirty laundry in public.

[Jacobs, 2022, extract 4] Ugly charges of physical abuse and lurid testimony came to define the
Depp-Heard trial, which included one line of questioning about actual dirty laundry: the couple’s
fierce argument over how the sheets in a Los Angeles penthouse where they were staying had
become befouled. But the jury found in the end that Ms Heard had defamed Mr Depp in a 2018
op-ed in The Washington Post in which she referred to herself as a “public figure representing
domestic abuse.”

[Jacobs, 2022, extract 5] “Some people will look at this as a playbook for suing your accuser,”
said Charles Tobin, a First Amendment lawyer who practices in Fairfax, Va., where the trial
played out over six weeks, and who briefly represented the former employer of a witness called
 126

in the Depp case. The proceedings were broadcast and live-streamed far beyond the walls of the
courtroom.

[Jacobs, 2022, extract 6] The $10.35 million award to Mr Depp was offset by a $2 million partial
victory for Ms Heard, who countersued Mr Depp for defamation after a lawyer representing him
made several statements to a British tabloid calling her abuse accusations a “hoax.” The jury did
not find two of those statements defamatory but found that a third — in which the lawyer had
accused Ms Heard of damaging the couple’s penthouse and calling 911 “to set Mr Depp up” —
did defame her. Mr Depp praised the verdict, saying that “the jury gave me my life back,” while
Ms Heard described it as “heartbreaking.”

[Jacobs, 2022, extract 7] The outcome differed from that of a case in Britain, where a judge had
ruled two years ago that there was evidence that Mr Depp had repeatedly assaulted Ms Heard.
That ruling came in a libel suit that Mr Depp had filed after The Sun, a British tabloid
newspaper, called him a “wife beater” in a headline. While Britain is sometimes considered
hospitable to libel cases, the judge who heard that case, Andrew Nicol, found that there was
sufficient proof to conclude that most of the assaults Ms Heard described had occurred, and he
determined that what the newspaper had published was “substantially true.”

[Jacobs, 2022, extract 8] Several high-profile defamation cases in recent years have been settled
before they reached trial. In 2019, seven women who had accused Bill Cosby of sexual assault,
and then sued him for defamation after they were accused of lying, settled their claims; a
spokesman for Mr Cosby said that his insurance company had decided to settle the cases without
his consent. And the casino mogul Steve Wynn recently agreed to a settlement of a defamation
suit he had filed against the lawyer Lisa Bloom, who said she would retract a statement accusing
him of inappropriate behaviour involving a client.

[Jacobs, 2022, extract 9] In the wake of the Depp verdict, several lawyers and legal experts said,
people accused of assault and misconduct may now be more inclined to try to bring defamation
cases to trial. And some advocacy organizations and lawyers worry that the case could have a
chilling effect on the victims of domestic violence or sexual abuse, adding to their fears that they
could be punished for speaking out.
 127

[Jacobs, 2022, extract 10] “I do think that well-resourced individuals who feel slighted by speech
that embarrassed or criticized them in some way may feel emboldened by this verdict,” said
Nicole Ligon, a First Amendment law professor who provides pro bono legal advice for people
considering going public with sexual misconduct accusations. “I imagine part of the reason
they’ll feel emboldened is beyond the verdict itself but the public reaction to it.”

[Jacobs, 2022, extract 11] The trial was captured by two cameras in the courtroom that allowed
the testimony to be packaged into memes and online commentary — much of which mocked Ms
Heard’s accusations of abuse. In an interview with NBC’s “Today” show on Thursday, one of
Ms Heard’s lawyers, Elaine Charlson Bredehoft, said that the cameras had turned the trial into a
“zoo.” Before the trial, Ms Bredehoft had sought to persuade the judge to block cameras from the
courtroom, arguing that Ms Heard would be describing incidents of alleged sexual violence and
predicting that “anti-Amber” networks would take statements out of context and play them
repeatedly.

[Jacobs, 2022, extract 12] “The potential for saturation of an unsequestered jury is a tremendous
risk in this case,” Ms Bredehoft argued, according to a court transcript from February. Judge
Penney S. Azcarate ordered that cameras be allowed, maintaining that Ms Bredehoft’s argument
about victims of sexual offences would only pertain to criminal trials. The judge suggested that
allowing cameras could make the courthouse “safer” by giving a broader audience of viewers’
access to the case remotely.

[Jacobs, 2022, extract 13] Mr Depp may have won a court victory, but it may take more than that
to revive his career, or for Walt Disney Studios, which has cast Mr Depp in several starring roles,
to get back into business with him. The studio declined to comment, but two Disney executives
privately pointed to his box office track record as the primary reason: None of his Disney movies
has succeeded outside of the “Pirates of the Caribbean” franchise since “Alice in Wonderland” in
2010. “Alice Through the Looking Glass” was a misfire in 2016, taking in 70 per cent less than
its predecessor worldwide. “The Lone Ranger” was a big-budget bomb in 2013. Except as
Captain Jack Sparrow in the “Pirates” films, he has not been a box office draw recently.

[Jacobs, 2022, extract 14] As for the “Pirates” franchise, Disney decided long before the trial to
part ways with Mr Depp and reboot the series, which, while still formidable at the box office,
 128

had been in decline in North America, falling 20 per cent to 30 per cent with each instalment. Mr
Depp also wore out his welcome with tardiness and other issues that came out at the trial, where
a former talent agent testified that he wore an earpiece on set so that his lines could be fed to
him. But Mr Depp’s victory — which a lawyer for Ms Heard said she would appeal — may
seem attractive to accused litigants who are desperately seeking a similar redemption arc, said

[Jacobs, 2022, extract 15] Andrew Miltenberg, a lawyer whose firm regularly defends people
accused of sexual misconduct. Right after the Depp-Heard verdict was announced, Mr
Miltenberg said, he received about a dozen emails from clients asking him if it would benefit
their cases. “I can see people saying, ‘I need that kind of victory to get my life back on track,’”
said Mr Miltenberg.

[Jacobs, 2022, extract 16] Several big defamation cases are still pending. E. Jean Carroll, who
sued former President Donald J. Trump after he said that she had lied about his raping her. The
actress Ashley Judd’s defamation lawsuit against the producer Harvey Weinstein has been on
hold during his criminal proceedings in California. She sued after reading that a director said that
Mr Weinstein’s studio, Miramax, had described her as a “nightmare to work with.”

[Jacobs, 2022, extract 16] Several lawyers noted that Mr Depp and Ms Heard’s battle was so
complex and singular in its level of public spectacle that people should be wary of drawing any
lasting conclusions about how their legal proceedings would unfold. “This is a unique case of
public figures airing their private dirty laundry,” said Joseph Cammarata, a lawyer who
represented the Cosby accusers in their defamation case. “It should not dissuade someone who
has a legitimate case from seeking justice.”

3. 2. “Kate Moss Denies Johnny Depp Pushed Her Down Stairs in Testimony”

Appearing as a witness for Mr Depp, whom she dated in the 1990s, the British model countered
testimony by the actor’s ex-wife, Amber Heard, who had alluded to a rumoured incident between
them.

By Julia Jacobs, May 25, 2022

[Jacobs, 2022, extract 1] Lawyers on each side of the defamation case between Johnny Depp and
Amber Heard worked on Wednesday to undermine the credibility of the other as the trial wound
 129

down and the moment approached when the jury would be tasked with deciding whether to
believe that Mr Depp abused Ms Heard, she abused him or mutual abuse occurred.

[Jacobs, 2022, extract 2]Mr Depp’s legal team brought forward testimony from the British model
Kate Moss, a former girlfriend, to rebut a rumour Ms Heard had alluded to earlier in court
suggesting that Mr Depp had pushed Ms Moss down the stairs in the 1990s. And Ms Heard’s
team confronted Mr Depp with a series of text messages in which he appeared to use vile
language about women, writing in 2016 that Ms Heard was “begging for total global
humiliation.”

[Jacobs, 2022, extract 3] Mr Depp said that message reflected his shock that Ms Heard was
making false allegations about him, but he denied sending a pair of separate messages that
included the words, “I need. I want. I take,” about a woman. “You read it right but I did not write
that,” he said, later calling the texts “grotesque.” “Perhaps someone else had my phone.”

[Jacobs, 2022, extract 4] A lawyer for Mr Depp, Benjamin Chew, questioned Ms Moss in
response to detail from Ms Heard’s testimony earlier in the trial. Ms Heard described a fight in
2015 in which, she said, she struck Mr Depp because he had swung at her sister while she was
standing at the top of a staircase.

“I just, in my head, instantly think of Kate Moss and the stairs and I swung at him,” Ms Heard
said.

Ms Moss denied that Mr Depp had ever pushed her down the stairs.

In Ms Moss’s brief testimony over a video call, she told the jury sitting in Fairfax County, Va.,
that she recalled slipping down the stairs at a resort in Jamaica during their relationship, which
she said lasted from 1994 to 1998.

“There had been a rainstorm and as I left the room I slid down the stairs and I hurt my back,” Ms
Moss said. “He came running back to help me and carried me to my room and got me medical
attention.”

“He never pushed me, kicked me or threw me down any stairs,” Ms Moss said.
 130

[Jacobs, 2022, extract 5] Ms Heard had also discussed that “rumour” in testimony at an earlier
trial in Britain in 2020, a case also associated with the question of whether Mr Depp had
physically abused his wife. In that case, Mr Depp sued a British tabloid company and editor after
The Sun newspaper called him a “wife beater” in a headline. The judge, in that case, found that
Mr Depp had assaulted Ms Heard repeatedly during their marriage and that he had put her “in
fear of her life.” Ms Moss did not testify during the proceeding in London. But Mr Depp’s legal
team chose to call her as a witness in Virginia after Ms Heard again referred to Ms Moss in the
courtroom. When she did, on May 5, Mr Depp’s lead lawyer, Mr Chew, pumped his fist,
appearing to celebrate the mention, which opened the door for Ms Moss to be called to testify
about her relationship with Mr Depp.

[Jacobs, 2022, extract 6]The jury is expected to get the case by the weekend. Technically the
members are empanelled to determine whether the reputation of either member of the former
couple has been damaged by false statements about their tumultuous relationship. To do so,
jurors will have to decide whether either side presented credible evidence that abuse had
occurred.

[Jacobs, 2022, extract 7] Another witness for Mr Depp on Wednesday was Beverly Leonard,
who said she saw Ms Heard get into an altercation with a companion in 2009 when Ms Leonard
was working at an airport in Seattle. Ms Leonard said Ms Heard grabbed the other woman and
pulled a necklace off her before she stepped between them. (Ms. Leonard was a police officer at
the airport and arrested Ms Heard on suspicion that she had assaulted her then-partner, Tasya van
Ree, according to court papers. Ms Heard was not charged, and Ms. van Ree called the
situation “over-sensationalized.”)

[Jacobs, 2022, extract 8] Under cross-examination, Ms Leonard, an unexpected witness,

acknowledged that she had reached out to Mr Depp’s team on Tuesday night, offering to testify.
A lawyer for Ms Heard, Elaine Charlson Bredehoft, questioned whether she had done so to “get
on television,” but Ms Leonard denied that.

[Jacobs, 2022, extract 9] Ms Heard, 36, has accused Mr Depp, 58, of repeated physical abuse, as
well as several instances of sexual assault, and has said she only ever hit back in defence of
 131

herself or her sister. Mr Depp has denied ever hitting or sexually assaulting Ms Heard and has
described her as the abuser in the relationship.

[Jacobs, 2022, extract 10] Earlier in the trial, Ellen Barkin, with whom Mr Depp was also
romantically involved in the 1990s, called him a “controlling” and “jealous man,” recounting an
incident in a Las Vegas in which, she said, Mr Depp threw a wine bottle across a hotel room. She
said there had been a fight going on between Mr Depp and other people in the room, but she
could not remember the cause of it.

[Jacobs, 2022, extract 11] The Virginia case was sparked by a 2018 op-ed in The Washington
Post, in which Ms Heard said her career suffered after she became a “public figure representing
domestic abuse.” The article did not mention Mr Depp by name, but he has asserted that its
allusions to their relationship “devastated” his acting career. The seven-person jury is also
considering Ms Heard’s countersuit, which says Mr Depp defamed her when the lawyer
representing him at the time made statements to the British tabloid The Daily Mail saying that
her abuse accusations were a hoax.

[Jacobs, 2022, extract 12] Ms Heard has testified that Mr Depp’s rages were fueled by his drug
and alcohol use and triggered by his suspicions that she was having affairs, which she has
repeatedly denied. Mr Depp, she said, would punch, slap and kick her, and had torn out clumps
of her hair and sexually assaulted her with a bottle.

[Jacobs, 2022, extract 13] Over four days of testimony earlier in the trial, Mr Depp described Ms
Heard as someone with a “need for conflict” and a “need for violence.” He said she had lashed
out at him physically over several issues, including a potential postnuptial agreement, her desire
for Mr Depp to abstain from drugs and alcohol, and his tardiness at her 30th birthday dinner.

[Jacobs, 2022, extract 14] On Wednesday, one of the texts that Mr Depp was confronted with
included his saying of Ms Heard in 2016, “I have no mercy, no fear and not an ounce of emotion,
or what I once thought was love for this gold-digging, low level, dime a dozen, mushy, pointless
dangling overused flappy fish market.”
 132

APPENDIX D

4. Washington Post Articles

4. 1. “Johnny Depp-Amber Heard Jury Sides Primarily with Depp in Defamation Trial”

By: Emily Yahr, Travis M. Andrews, Helena Andrews-Dyer, and Ashley Fetters Maloy, 1
June 2022.

[Yahr et al., 2022, extract 1] Johnny Depp prevailed in his three counts of defamation against
Amber Heard and was awarded $15 million, the jury announced Wednesday. The seven-person
jury also decided that Depp, through his lawyer Adam Waldman, defamed Heard on one of three
counts in her countersuit; she was awarded $2 million. The unanimous decision was delivered on
the third day of deliberation, bringing an end to the trial after six weeks of emotional testimony
recounting Depp and Heard’s tumultuous relationship and its fallout.

[Yahr et al., 2022, extract 2] Depp, 58, said he was “overwhelmed” in a statement released after
the verdict. The jury “gave me my life back,” he wrote. “I am truly humbled.” Heard, 36, had a
more blunt assessment of the proceedings, saying that she was “sad I lost this case” and that the
verdict “sets back the clock to a time when a woman who spoke up and spoke out could be
publicly shamed and humiliated. It sets back the idea that violence against women is to be taken
seriously.”

What does this mean for Depp’s and Heard’s careers?

By Travis Andrews

[Andrews, 2022, extract 3] Over the past decade, Johnny Depp and Amber Heard’s careers have
followed different trajectories. While she was breaking out in “Justice League” and “Aquaman,”
which grossed more than a billion dollars, Depp was staring down a string of panned films and
box-office flops, including “Mortdecai” and “Alice Through the Looking Glass.” Both actors
have claimed their careers were damaged by the high-profile accusations and subsequent trial.
Matthew Belloni, the former editor of the Hollywood Reporter and founder-partner of Puck,
thinks the short-term effects might be negative — but that they can both potentially recover in
the long term.
 133

Heard supporter at the courthouse is ‘disappointed, but not surprised at the verdict

By Emily Yahr

[Yahr, 2022, extract 4] Sydney Porter, 30, of Prince George’s County in Maryland, didn’t see
any other Amber Heard supporters at the courthouse Wednesday — but that has typically been
the scene in Fairfax, Va., where Johnny Depp fans have taken over. “I’m disappointed but not
surprised,” said Porter, who was holding a banner that said “We Stand With Amber Heard,” with
supportive messages written out from some of her online supporters. “I’m a little confused
because I feel like it’s very obvious who suffered more in terms of the allegations people made.”
She added that she thinks it was a mistake to live-stream the trial and not sequester the jury.

‘Johnny for president!

By Paul Schwartzman

[Schwartzman, 2022, extract 5] Outside the front of the courthouse, there were shouts of “Johnny
for president!” and “Johnny — 2024!” as police officers helped Depp’s lawyer navigate the
crowd and reach his black SUV. “Out of the street!” a cop shouted at the crowd. “Back it up!”
another officer yelled. Sandy Riley, leaning on her cane, took in the scene as she has since the
trial began. “We’re so proud of Fairfax County,” she said, standing alongside her husband, Phil,
80. “I told the man from the BBC that George Washington’s will is kept 200 feet from here. We
know how to do things right. This wasn’t a circus. It was a trial.”

The jury thinks Amber Heard lied but didn’t fake a scene, legal experts say

By Helena Andrews-Dyer

[Andrews-Dyer, 2022, extract 6] At issue in the Amber Heard-Johnny Depp trial were six
statements in the media that each celebrity contended were defamatory and damaged their
reputation. With its verdict on Wednesday, the jury in the case ruled that in three separate
instances, Heard lied in an op-ed for The Washington Post when she described herself as a
victim of domestic abuse. But that ruling in Depp’s favour did not stop the jury from also
deciding that in one particular instance (also out of three), one of Depp’s lawyers, Adam
Waldman, defamed Heard.
 134

‘Liar! Liar!’: Heard taunted as she leaves the courthouse

By Paul Schwartzman

[Schwartzman, 2022, extract 7] As Amber Heard left the courthouse in a black pickup truck, a
television reporter shouted, “The jury didn’t believe you, what’s your reaction?”

Heard’s vehicle kept moving, black tinted passenger windows up.

“Liar! Liar!” shouted Diane Yetman, 57, of Fairfax, who positioned herself in a spot where she
could “voice my opinion.”

“I live so close — why not?” she said. Heard "did harm to all the people who are true victims of
domestic violence.” Greg Morris, 48, volunteered a bit of sidewalk legal analyzes as he and Will
Hantzes, 34, a paralegal, awaited a glimpse of Heard.

‘Johnny Depp is the slam-dunk winner’

By Ashley Fetters Maloy

[Maloy, 2022, extract 8] In the minutes after the verdict was announced, Depp fans rejoiced — at
the courthouse, online and elsewhere — over what they largely characterized as a heavily one-
sided victory for Depp. David Ring, a civil trial lawyer based in Los Angeles who specializes in
sexual assault cases and civil litigation, agreed with that takeaway. While the jury found that
both parties defamed each other and awarded what Ring called “significant damages” to both,
“Johnny Depp is the slam-dunk winner. No question,” Ring said. “I think 99 out of 100 cases
when you have a big celebrity involved, the celebrity wins, whether it’s criminal or civil. Jurors
love celebrities.”

4. 2. “Depp's attorney tries to discredit Heard as cross-examination concludes”

By Travis M. Andrews, May 17, 2022

[Andrews, 2022, extract 1] Cross-examination of Amber Heard by one of Johnny Depp’s

attorneys concluded Tuesday afternoon in Fairfax County in the bitter defamation trial between
the film celebrities. Depp attorney Camille Vasquez’s rapid-fire questions sought to discredit
 135

Heard’s testimony and continuously categorized her as abusive toward her ex-husband during
their tumultuous relationship and marriage.

[Andrews, 2022, extract 2] Depp sued Heard for $50 million over 2018 op-ed she published in
The Washington Post, which alleged domestic abuse from an unnamed person. He claims the
piece has ruined his reputation and his career and contends that he never physically or sexually
abused Heard. She countersued him for $100 million after his lawyers said her allegations were
false. (The Post is not a defendant in the lawsuit.)

[Andrews, 2022, extract 3] Vasquez presented the jury with a knife Heard gave Depp for his
birthday engraved with the phrase “till death” in Spanish. “This is the knife you gave to the man
who would get drunk and violent with you,” Vasquez said. “I wasn’t worried he was going to
stab me with it,” Heard said.

[Andrews, 2022, extract 4] As she would throughout her cross-examination questions Tuesday,
Vasquez then quickly pivoted, bringing up another, unrelated incident. She questioned Heard’s
testimony concerning a particularly brutal incident she alleged took place in Australia, in which
she claims she was sexually assaulted with a liquor bottle and the tip of Depp’s finger was
severed. Depp alleges Heard cut his finger by throwing a vodka bottle at him, while the defence
suggests Depp injured himself.

[Andrews, 2022, extract 5] Vasquez focused on the sequence of events, which she suggested
were improbable — claiming Depp could not do so much damage with a severed finger. Heard
maintained that she didn’t recall the order in which things occurred, saying, “I have never
claimed that I can remember the exact sequence of these things. This is a multi-day assault that
took place over three horrible days.”

[Andrews, 2022, extract 6] Vasquez further sought to discredit Heard’s testimony about the
incident in Australia by pointing out that “there is not a single medical record” of Heard’s
injuries, nor are there any photographs of them. Vasquez noted that Heard expressed concern for
Depp’s substance abuse but continued using drugs and alcohol herself.

[Andrews, 2022, extract 7] She questioned whether it was Heard who was jealous, rather than
Depp — as the defendant has claimed. She suggested Depp got Heard her role in the movie
 136

“Aquaman,” and presented a tape recording in which Heard insulted Depp’s career, calling him
“washed-up” and a “joke.” She also presented multiple sets of text messages in which Heard
repeatedly asks Depp to answer the phone, in an attempt to portray Heard as jealous. “You were
texting him incessantly,” Vasquez said. Heard said she sent them in a desperate attempt to get
Depp to stop using drugs.

[Andrews, 2022, extract 8] Vasquez pressed heavily against Heard’s argument that the op-ed she
wrote — which lies at the heart of the trial — isn’t about Depp but about what happened to her
after she obtained a temporary restraining order against the actor. “I was talking about a bigger
issue, actually, than just Johnny,” Heard said.

[Andrews, 2022, extract 9] Heard’s countersuit revolves around several claims made in the press
by Depp’s former lawyer Adam Waldman, who called Heard’s accusations a hoax. She claims
the accusations, which she characterized as a “negative smear campaign,” led to the loss of
career opportunities. In response, Vasquez read headlines from articles negatively characterizing
Heard that were published before Waldman’s comments.

[Andrews, 2022, extract 10] The cross-examination lasted until about 2:40 p.m., at which point
Heard’s attorney, Elaine Bredehoft, began to redirect questioning, in which she challenged a few
of Vasquez’s points — such as how Heard got her role in “Aquaman.” “I worked hard,” Heard
said. The redirect lasted about 35 minutes, and Vasquez consistently — and successfully —
objected to questions from Bredehoft — often so many times in a row that it drew laughter from
the courtroom audience, which throughout the trial has been composed of mostly Depp fans.

[Andrews, 2022, extract 11] The court then played the video deposition of artist iO Tillett
Wright, a friend of Heard’s who grew close to Depp for a few years. He described the actor as
“lovely,” “magical” and “very funny” when he was sober, but “paranoid,” “mean” and “surly”
when inebriated. Though he never witnessed Depp physically assault Heard, Wright said, he
heard Depp say things around her, such as “all she’s got is her looks.” He said when Depp was
inebriated, he would also “insult his fans” and call them “remoras,” also known as suckerfish. He
also recalled Depp telling him that “he just really didn’t like life sober” and that he would
“experience great bouts of jealousy in relationships.”
 137

[Andrews, 2022, extract 12] Just after Depp and Heard’s marriage ceremony, Wright said, he
congratulated Depp on their nuptials. Depp allegedly responded, “We’re married. Now I can
punch her in the face and nobody can do anything about it.”

He also relayed an incident in which he was on the phone with Heard, who told him that Depp
was convinced they defecated on his pillow. Wright and Heard began laughing, he said, and
Depp grew agitated. Wright heard a smack, “and the phone dropped. And he said to her, ‘You
think I hit you? You think I f---ing hit you? What if I peel your f---ing hair back?’ And then I
heard the phone drop again, and I heard her scream.”

The trial is scheduled to continue Wednesday with testimony from additional witnesses.
 ‫‪138‬‬

‫المستخلص‬

‫تحلل هذه الدراسة تغطية بعض الصحف البريطانية و األمريكية لمحاكمة الممثل االمريكي المعروف جوني‬
‫ديب ضد زوجته السابقه آمبر هيرد من خالل ما ورد في هذه الصحف من مقاالت و آراء وتقارير تتعلق بتلك‬
‫المحاكمة‪ .‬تعتبر الصحف مادة إعالمية جيدة في تحليل أي ظاهرة لغوية لكونها تؤثر في السلطة و صناع‬
‫القرار و ليس فقط في الجمهور وذلك من خالل اختيار المفردات و إنتقاء الكلمات و إضمار المعاني و إخفاء‬
‫اآلراء و التالعب بالكلمات‪ .‬تهدف هذه الدراسة إلى تحديد األدوات اللغوية التي تعكس دور كتاب المقاالت في‬
‫تغطية هذه المحاكمة بكل تفاصيلها إذ إن ما ورد في الصحف المذكورة أعاله يكشف األيديولوجيات المحتملة‬
‫و األجندات المبهمة في ما يتعلق في تمثيل مجريات المحاكمة المذكورة و وصف طرفي المحاكمة وهما‬
‫جوني ديب وآمبر هيرد‪ .‬ويستند التحليل في هذا السياق إلى الطريقة النوعية للتحليل من خالل دمج نموذجين‬
‫للتحليل وهما نموذج التحليل االجتماعي المعرفي لفان دايك (‪ )2014‬والنموذج الثالثي األبعاد لفيركلف‬
‫(‪ .)2015‬أما عينة التحليل فقد تضمنت ثمان مقاالت من اربع صحف عالمية ناطقة باللغة االنكليزية وهي‬
‫الغارديان والديلي تيليغراف من بريطانيا‪ ،‬و الواشنطن بوست و نيويورك تايمز من الواليات المتحدة‬
‫األمريكية‪ .‬تبين نتائج التحليل إن كتاب المقاالت يوظفون اللغة لتسليط الضوء على جوانب معينة أو لشد انتباه‬
‫القراء نحو قضايا محددة‪ .‬توصلت هذه الدراسة إلى أن الصحف المذكورة جسدت محاكمة ديب و هيرد في‬
‫أطر مختلفة حسب فحوى المقال وطريقة الوصف والتغطية اإلعالمية‪ ،‬فالصحف البريطانية ركزت أكثر على‬
‫ما يدور حول المحاكمة من أخبار ومستجدات وتطورات محلية ودولية و بالذات على وسائل اإلعالم األخرى‬
‫وكيفية تعاطيها مع هذه المحاكمة‪ ،‬أما الصحف االمريكية فقد ركزت على طرفي هذه المحاكمة وبكل ما كان‬
‫يجري معهما أثناء المحاكمة‪ .‬تستنتج هذا الدراسة أن وسائل اإلعالم تتناقل األخبار وفقا ألفكار و ايدولوجيات‬
‫مبطنة والتي ينتج عنها أحيانا أخبار ذات طابع مشحون فكريا‪ .‬تكمن أهمية هذه الدراسة إنها تسلط الضوء‬
‫على العالقة بين اإلعالم من جهة وبين المشاهير من جهة أخرى وكيف يمكن لألخبار بصفتها وسيلة التعريف‬
‫بكل ما يجري أن تنقل اآلراء وتغيرها وتقولبها ما يتماشى من أحداث‪ ،‬فاللغة إعالميا هي ليست فقط وسيلة‬
‫إتصال أو تواصل و أنما هي أيضا عنصر تجسيد لوصف حدث معين بطرق مختلفة‪.‬‬
 ‫‪139‬‬

‫جمهورية العراق‬

‫وزارة التعليم العالي والبحث العلمي‬

‫جامعة واسط‬

‫كلية التربية للعلوم االنسانية‬

‫قسم اللغة االنكليزية‬

‫تحليل نقدي للخطاب لمحاكمة ديب وهيرد في صحف بريطانية وامريكية‬

‫مختاره‬
‫رسالة تقدمت بها الطالبة‬

‫كوثر خالد ابراهيم‬

‫إلى مجلس كلية التربية للعلوم االنسانية‪ /‬جامعة واسط‬

‫وهي جزء من متطلبات نيل درجة الماجستير في اللغة االنكليزية وعلم اللغة‬

‫بإشراف‬

‫أ‪.‬م‪ .‬محمد ناصر عبد السادة‬

‫‪ 2023‬م‬ ‫‪ 1445‬هـ‬