On the subject of Depp and Heard, I think it underscores the prevailing double standards, one of which you touched upon: our default is to automatically believe the woman.
Without even a shred of evidence in Heard's favor, Johnny Depp's career was nearly destroyed. Granted, I haven't seen too many of Depp's movies, so my enjoyment of movies doesn't depend on whether he has a career.
But it concerns me that, without any evidence whatsoever, a woman can tarnish a man's reputation and make shipwreck of his career, without even presenting evidence.
Amber Heard knows all about this double standard and had every intention of exploiting it. In fact, she was so confident that her allegations would stand and Depp's fail, she even dared him to try and claim she was an abuser. "Go and tell the world that I, Johnny Depp, am a victim of domestic violence," she sneered, "And see how many people believe you."
It turns out, we all did.
But there is still one more double standard operating. Somehow, when Amber Heard has been exposed as a probable liar and an abuser, her career is still intact. She will be in the next Aquaman. And she also gets interviews.
We've seen this drama play out before, of course. Think of the accusations of Christine Blasey Ford against Brett Kavanaugh. Granted, I care nothing for Kavanaugh, but that doesn't mean he deserves to have his reputation and career ruined merely because someone made unsupported accusations against him.
If you could quantify the evidence that Blasey Ford had against Kavanaugh, her case against Kavanaugh would be rated in negative numbers. Not only could she produce no evidence against him, but all three of her own hand-picked witnesses testified against her, including one woman who said in a sworn affidavit that she has no recollection of any such incident, and further that she has never in her life attended a party that was attended by Brett Kavanaugh.
I don't believe Blasey Ford is telling the truth.
If you're going to traipse into the public eye and make accusations against a public figure, fine. I will listen to what you have to say. But if you have no evidence whatsoever, I'm not going to waste any more of my time or energy on you. Don't ask me for sympathy; I don't even know you. Turn to your family and friends if you want someone who believes you.
Hillary Clinton once said to sexual abuse survivors, "You have the right to be believed."
No, you don't. And as a lawyer, she knows better.
Like every other allegation of a crime, the burden of proof is on the accuser. Lacking this, the accused is entitled to the presumption of innocence.
Yet, Johnny Depp was removed from "The Pirates of the Caribbean" franchise without even being permitted to defend himself. Thankfully, he's been reinstated. Which would be nice, except that he shouldn't have been removed in the first place.