Johnny Depp’s Testimony

The big story in the news is the Johnny Depp and Amber Heard’s defamation trial going on right now. Are you watching it?  People are wondering if Johnny Depp is being honest. Amber Heard hasn’t testified yet.

When I watch Depp testify, I see a man whose demeanor is very calculated. He is methodical in choosing his words and acting in a very controlled manner.  This flags me.  Why does he have the need to be so controlled?

When I listen to the recorded audio segments played in court of Depp and Heard arguing, I hear a very different demeanor from Depp. Of course he is mad (in the clip above), but this “calculated and methodically” personality is no where to be seen. It means we aren’t seeing an authentic Depp in one of these places.  You can pick which one you think is authentic.

When people are honest, they don’t need to control anything. So for me, this raises big red flags.

In the video clip above, I see many elements that give me pause and concern.  It’s clear Depp doesn’t have memories of multiple incidents because he was under the influence of drugs or alcohol.

It’s notable to me that he can’t remember the TV breaking. He thinks there was a “cup” or a “plate” stuck into it? Those are pretty distinct items to not be able to differentiate in memory.  He can’t remember which it was?

Ouch.

Would he then remember hitting or harming someone?

When it comes to the discussion of the penis drawn on a painting, I do believe Depp doesn’t remember drawing a penis on a painting. I’ll give him that! He gives supportive evidence he doesn’t remember.

When the attorney questions him about the penis painting, and says, “Given the state you were in, it’s entirely possible that you did that even if you don’t remember it to this day, correct?”

I love how Depp ignores the question (very common for him), and then tries to act like he does remember what was important to him.

Depp says, “Drawing a penis on a painting wasn’t the first thing on my mind.”

You have to laugh: That’s an ego statement like, dude, I don’t dream of penises. But it is also, to me, a form of control. It’s appears to be a need by him to change facts to suit him, which always raises eyebrows for me.

He continues, “I had messages…to, uh…write.”

Messages?  Really? Is that what you would call this?  Isn’t this manipulation? Gaslighting? Isn’t he painting himself in a light that doesn’t fit with reality?  Do you know anyone who could call defacing a lamp or property leaving “messages”?  It’s ridiculous.

For me, it is playing with words in an attempt to manage and control the situation–to change the narrative.

When you are honest, do you need to do this?

No.

People who do this? They typically can’t be honest with themselves let alone others. They are also often very toxic.

The attorney goes on saying that Depp wrote grievances he had with Heard, and Depp says, “Reminders”.

Listen, if you want to be taken seriously and honestly, admit what you’ve done. Don’t twist and turn the picture here to try to hide from it. Everyone can see it here.  Depp defaced stuff here so own it. Don’t tell us you wrote “reminders”.  That’s babble and nonsense.

When further questioned about the lampshade, Depp ridiculously says of defacing of the lamp, “Yes, I thought it was good advice.”

It’s good advice to deface lamps and put messages on them?

Please help me. Depp is telling you who he is here.

In point 6, in the video clip above, where Heard rattles off all the abuse she claims to have endured, I would have expected Depp to cut her off, disagree, or argue if it was nonsense. I find that noteworthy that he didn’t. I wish this clip didn’t cut off here, though! Is there more of this clip that is noteworthy? He could have just walked away–you can’t rule that out. I can’t tell by the short clip. I’m curious now! If he engages with her after this and just ignores it, it’s noteworthy.

Later in the clip above, Depp talks about looking through a doorway to see Heard’s foot injury (I’m not sure the whole context of this segment). He then says the door hit him smack dab head on in the forehead (because she kicked it in).  I’m trying to figure how that could happen. If you are bending down in a doorway, looking at a toe, and the door is cracked a jar about a foot as he says, how does the door hit you in the center of the forehead as he demonstrated?  I could see it being kicked and slamming into the side of your head (crushing). But how does a slightly ajar door hit you and bounce off the forehead as he says? Unless he was looking at the door and not her foot? Strange.

He even smiles as he says it.  Why would he smile here? It’s odd.  Then he says he, “was completely taken a back by such a…a…a…a., corrosive…..horr..ific move.”

That’s dramatic, don’t you think?  Or did he have serious injuries from this that I don’t know about?  He doesn’t seem to show or talk about any emotional pain from the experience. It sounds like it was a serious bruise to his ego however.

Throughout his testimony, we see this arrogant smugness, smirking and smiling on Depp’s face.  Arrogance is a belief  that one is superior. Superior people put themselves first always!  Nearly 100% of the time. It always alerts me to pay close attention that this is a very self-centered person.

We then see a video of Depp saying “You want to see crazy” as he pours a bottle of wine. When asked about the incident, the attorney says, “You were violent in that clip, correct?”  Depp replies, “Um…clearly I was having a bad…time.”

Really?  No, that was a rage fit. A violent emotional outburst where he lost control. He can’t admit it.

What can he admit then?

Depp is then asked if he was drunk in that video clip and he can’t admit it, either.  He says, “There is a possibility of that.”

You cannot pin down this man to answer directly on anything! And yet he wants to point the finger at someone else and hold them accountable?

In his testimony, Depp admits that he gave a pill to Marilyn Manson, “so that he would stop talking.”

YIKES.

This is an arrogance in a person that feels superior to others and will do whatever he wants to make himself feel better regardless of how it affects them.

While it is not appropriate to rage and yell and scream at a man as Heard did, I can certainly understand she was dealing with a brick wall who twists and turns and changes the narrative. That will make any person crazy.

Do you see a pattern here? A pattern of not answering questions directly?  A pattern of not taking ownership of his bad behaviors?? Of twisting things to change the narrative? Of not remembering events?

Is this a person you would find trustworthy?

I certainly don’t.  I would not feel safe in the presence of Depp behind closed doors ever.

I will share my thoughts on Amber as well once she testifies.

Will Smith and Chris Rock at the Oscars

I didn’t catch the Oscar’s last night. It’s not really my cup of tea, to be honest, but several people have requested my thoughts about last night’s incident with Will Smith and Chris Rock.

When I first watched the incident in the video above, the slap or punch or hit sounded so loud, yet I didn’t see Chris Rock respond in kind to such a hard hit.  It made me wonder for a second:  Is this real? Or a staged event?  Did you question it, too?

But afterwards, seeing Smith say, “Keep my wife’s name out of our f–ing mouth,” and the concurrent response of angry words he said, and the tension in his face clearly supports this is not staged, but real.

Will Smith even walks away after the slap with a smug smirk on his face. He is proud about what he did, which makes me nauseated, to be honest.

I find Smith’s actions to be completely unacceptable on any level. He was like a 2-year old child having a temper tantrum at a formal event!  He resorted to physical aggression to (a) communicate and (b) intimidate, (c) humiliate and (d) bully Chris Rock.

This is not a correction–drawing a respectable boundary, if he felt violated as an adult. This is abusive. If Smith had an issue, he could have maturely addressed his grievance afterwards whether in private or in public. There are mature ways of doing things.

Where is society going?  It seems we are going backwards!

When I see people who act like Smith and see they can and will do this in public without regret, I shutter to think what they are like behind closed doors where they feel freer to be cruel. When you can’t control a temper in public, there are often many other things you can’t control either, and its scary.  This gives me great pause in trusting someone after witnessing this!

Smith also did not give a sincere apology, but instead he continued his “victim stance”–even blaming Rock for being the abuser.  Smith said, “I know, to do what we do, you gotta be able to take abuse,” Smith also said in his speech. “You gotta be able to have people talk crazy about you. In this business, you gotta be able to have people disrespecting you and you gotta smile and pretend like that’s OK.”

He also said, “At your highest moment, be careful, that’s when the devil comes for you”

He is a “victim”, which is another sad situation. Neither he nor Jada have to be a victim if someone insults them. That’s toxic behavior.

As for Chris Rock, if his comment was meant to attack Jada’s alopecia, it was not an appropriate joke, but I have to give it to Chris Rock. He didn’t resort to more escalation after being physically attacked! That took maturity to do that. And I thought it was common to roast people at the Oscars. Am I wrong?  I am not an expert on Oscar history, my apologies, if I am wrong.

Frankly, as a society, we should not accept people acting like Smith did. It’s totally unacceptable on every level. There is no excuse for it. Period.

Lastly, there are multiple reports of Nicole Kidman reacting during all of this. Some say it was due to the slap, and other say the moment was captured before. But either way, they captured a great expression on her face. Do you know what it is?

 

Two Types of Deception Quote


There are two ways to be fooled.  One is to believe what isn’t true; the other is to refuse to accept what is true.”
–Soren Kierkegaard

ABC The Bachelor: Clayton, Sarah and Empathy

If you caught the Bachelor last night, Clayton confronted one of the women on the show–questioning her sincerity to commit to marriage at the end of the season. It was a fascinating moment. When you look for people to trust, you want to see genuine emotions, which Sarah showed. And you also want to see your partner show a compassionate response to your genuine emotions–to know that they are also capable of genuine empathy and compassion, too.  No one wants a partner void of empathy, right? That’s a high risk scenario!

With Clayton last night, he was emotionally stone-faced in response to Sarah’s heart-pouring response to his questions!  I was in awe of it. It was glaring and obvious and jaw-dropping for me.

You can’t be quick jump to the conclusion that because he shows no emotions, he therefore has no empathy. I would want to see other supportive evidence first! Always! There are reasons why people have impairments that don’t mean they are cold-hearted!

Clayton may not have been able to read Sarah and could have been in deep in thought trying to dissect her sincerity. That is absolutely plausible. He does seem to struggle with the ability to read people if you’ve been watching the show. He actually shows somewhat of a handicap in this ability.

Even still, I would still expect some response to her genuine emotional display of sadness and her sincere vulnerability, but Clayton had no emotional (visible) response.  He did express cognitive empathy after the ordeal, and I was glad to see that.

This could come from him having another medical issue such a mild form of autism as well. You need to absolutely consider there may be other causes to his inability to read or express emotion. Is it consistent throughout his other interactions with people?

If I were Sarah, or any of the girls on the show, going forward I would watch his emotional responses closely and see if I can understand his ability to empathize. And if it is reduced, what the reasoning may be for it? He may be able to provide some insight that isn’t public.  Or he could give us a cold response, right?  Wouldn’t you want to know?!

Time for a detective hat!

From the previews of the upcoming episodes, it appears that Clayton tells two women that he was intimate with them in front of each of the women–which again, makes you question him again.  Why on earth would anyone do this?  Is this a lack of empathy or difficulty in understanding the complexity of human relationships? The previews are mind-boggling.

I am always on the lookout for people who show low or no empathy–especially being a highly empathetic person. To be a highly empathetic person in a low or no empathy relationship–that’s painful and difficult at best!

I don’t have answers on Clayton and I may not get them, but I put this out for food for thought. Do you watch people’s interactions with others to see if they are empathetic? It’s actually important to do for your well-being and could even in some cases affect your safety!

My goal in 2022 is to help people understand others who pose risk to lie or cause harm to you. People low on empathy pose risk even if they don’t intention to at times. Understanding one’s ability to empathize is very important. Stay tuned!  I’m going to be bringing my classes into the virtual world this year! Interested? Sign-up to get notified!

Jasmine Hartin on 48 Hours

If you watched Jasmine’s story on 48 Hours this past week, you saw quite a story!

Known as a partying socialite, Jasmine and her common-law husband, who is the son of the billionaire Michael Ashcroft, met and lived in Belize.

Jasmine tells us of how she dreamed of having an idyllic life in Belize after growing up less fortunate in Canada.

She and Andrew Ashcroft were raising twins in a royal and lavish lifestyle when Jasmine ended up on a dock late at night with a well known and highly regarded top police official, Henry Jemmott, in circumstances that should absolutely raise questions for you.

Henry Jemmott ended up dead with a bullet behind his ear that night.

In the totality of Jasmine’s story, there are are so many red flags, it’s painful. Add to it that she has changed her story. Her first version was she didn’t do it — a boat drove by and the bullet hit him. Later, she owns it and says it was an accident.

And of course there is a gun expert at the end of the 48 Hour show, too. Did he make you second guess yourself?

Jasmine lacks normal emotions throughout her entire recounting of what happened to her yet when you watch her talk about losing her children, it’s amazing, she has real emotions.

The contrast of the two should flag you.

Why does she have emotions about losing her children, but not about the killing of a “friend” Henry Jemmott?

Furthermore, when she talks about going on the pier that night with Henry, she says to him why are you bringing your gun?

This stands out to me notably. Most law enforcement carry a weapon all the time. If she was his friend, she would have known this, right? Why does she make it a notable point here? Is she trying to create a story? A story that isn’t logical?

Why is a women, and mother in a committed relationship on a dock at 12:45 a.m. with another man–drinking no less? And found to have cocaine in her possession, which she won’t admit to it being hers.

Jasmine herself says, “I think a lot of people misjudge me… they don’t see my wholesome side.” That should jump out you. People don’t see the Jasmine that Jasmine wants you to see. Hmmm. Very telling!

Jasmine tries to tell us a senior police official was giving her gun lessons in the dark, on a pier, while drinking at 12:45 a.m. That should jump out at you like a bolt of lightening!

While I know nothing of the Belize police force and their reputation, Jemmott had a good reputation. Is this behavior consistent with her story? It isn’t.

What trained firearms expert is going to give a woman gun lessons in the dark after drinking in the middle of the night? None that I have known.

Most law enforcement I have known have incredible respect for their weapon, and the safety measures they need to take. They also know if they are careless with a gun, it can jeopardize their job in most places (I am not in expert in Belize culture, but I suspect it is the same there–this is a life/death safety issue regardless).

I do not believe Henry Jemmott behaved as reckless as Jasmine is painting him here. His reputation was solid.

Worse, Jasmine’s account of the gun going off and subsequent events seems completely abnormal. She says…

“So, the shot went off and he fell on top of me. And all I could feel was warmth. And I later then realized — he was bleeding on me. I was shaking him. … I didn’t know what to do. … As I’m trying to wiggle my way free to render aid, his body was slipping into the water from the dock.I didn’t know what to do. I didn’t know if he was dead.”

Her friend was found by police, not on the dock, but in the water. In the water. Is that how you treat a friend you accidentially shot? Come on, Jasmine!

Her statement is loaded with red flags. One after another. Do you see them? I will share more in the comments below in the coming days! Feel free to share the hot spots you saw too. I couldn’t possibly address them them all.

Do I believe Jasmine Hartin’s story? I do not. I do not know what happened that night precisely — that would require further analysis, but I do know it’s NOT what Hartin wants us to believe!!