Laurie Holden has been there to defend Johnny Depp since Amber Heard's allegations against him were first made public, and despite the backlash it had gotten her at the time, she would do it again. Currently, Depp and Heard are in the midst of a bitter legal battle with the exes suing one another. Depp has gotten immense support from many observing the trial, largely in part due to audio recordings of Heard allegedly admitting to "hitting" and "starting a physical fight" with Depp.
In 2016, however, most of the sordid details of that marriage were still private. When it was reported that Heard filed for divorce, it was also revealed that the actress had sought a restraining order against Depp, alleging that he had physically abused her. Feeling that it was too early for fans to pass judgment, Holden took to Twitter to announce that she was still seeing Alice Through the Looking Glass, Depp's newest movie at the time, in support of Depp. She told those criticizing Depp to "zip it" as no one yet knew the "real truth."
Holden's tweet came under fire with many criticizing the Walking Dead star for sharing her opinion. People were accusing Holden of ignoring abuse, prompting her to send out a follow-up tweet to explain that she was only telling people not to jump to any conclusions, suggesting that the photos taken of Heard's allegedly bruised face might not be telling "the whole story."
"To be clear: I am just saying DON'T JUMP TO CONCLUSIONS. Even a pic might not be telling the whole story," Holden said.
While Holden wanted to give Depp a chance to offer his side of the story, the actress still wanted to make it clear that she takes allegations of abuse seriously. She apologized in a statement but stood by her assertion that people needed to first hear out Depp before vilifying him on social media. Her statement read:
"I am deeply saddened if my recent comments offended anyone or caused victims of domestic violence to feel disrespected. I am an active crusader in support of victims’ rights, human rights and deplore the idea of anyone being physically and emotionally abused in any form. I must clarify that my comments were solely an impassioned reaction to the vilification of a human being on social media and the public outcry for complete and utter ruination. Let me be clear: I strongly believe that each and every individual who alleges ‘abuse’ should be heard and protected under full recourse of the law…but I do not support cyber bullying and trial by Twitter. Stop the hate, grant people the grace of working out their issues without a mob mentality audience”.
Johnny Depp's Fans Are Calling for Justice
The facts of this case are still getting sorted out in the courtroom with a jury ultimately deciding what will happen as far as the defamation allegations go. In any case, many of Depp's fans feel that the evidence is on his side, and he has been getting a lot of support as each day of the trial goes on. Holden's opinion that Depp should have his side heard isn't so unpopular anymore, and she has now taken back to Twitter to say she'd "do it again" when it comes to defending Johnny Depp.
"Glad I did. Would do it again in a heartbeat. Just happy that 6 years later the world is finally catching up, The truth is now being revealed and there will be justice," Holden said.
In a follow-up tweet, she added, "Abuse is not constricted to gender. Let’s get past stereotypes of what a victim is 'supposed' to look like. Females are abused everyday. Males are abused everyday as well. Let’s unify as humans & choose the path of kindness; treat one another with human decency."