Monica Lewinsky recently declared that no matter who wins or loses in Johnny Depp’s libel trial against Amber Heard, “we are all guilty.”
In an op-ed published Tuesday, Lewinsky wrote that he previously used to view the ongoing trial in “bits and bytes,” however, then gave in to his “guilty fascination” just like others.
Lewinsky lamented that this trial has “soaked viewers in the filth contamination and aggression of social media wars.”
The activist commented that the hearing has been “obtained through videos and clips from social networks” in this trial.
“It’s like going to the opera and reading a couple of translated supertitles but not understanding Italian. Our consumption, therefore, has tended to be biased, curated and superficial,” she noted.
What worries Lewinsky amid this “celebrity circus” are the larger implications for culture.
“This legal spectacle would be sad enough if it only affected the personal lives of Depp, Heard and their loved ones,” he added. they have looked to the #MeToo movement for strength. However, it is the broader implications for our culture that concern me the most.”
Lewinsky mentioned in his comment that in this way “we are devaluing our dignity and humanity by choosing judgment for our own ends on social media.”
At the end, the activist also posed some questions to the readers for self-reflection.
“As we have seen this story unfold, what does our opinion entitle us to? Does it give us the right to say in whom we ‘believe’? And most importantly, does it give us the right to be cruel? she asked.