Amber Heard’s Friend iO Tillett Wright Writes About Experience Calling 911 on an Abuser

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“I called 911 because she never would.”

Yesterday morning, a post published in Refinery 29 by iO Tillett Wright opened with that chilling line; omitting any names from the piece, Wright only recounted in detail the reason why she decided to take action in a situation surrounding domestic violence. It’s both a personal narrative and a means of calling attention more generally to often unaddressed issue of domestic violence.

She writes:

We say domestic violence is bad, we condemn it. But as a culture, we create the most fertile breeding ground for it to thrive.

The post deconstructs the excuses victims and society tend to make for abusers, and simultaneously addresses the difficult aspects of confronting abuse that’s coupled with celebrity.

This is particularly relevant because Wright — an artist, writer, photographer, and gender activist — is also a dear friend to both Amber Heard and Johnny Depp. Many of us are well aware that there have been many allegations made surrounding Johnny Depp having abused his Heard, and since the article went up a day after Wright tweeted her support for Heard, people have been speculating across the Internet that the piece may be connected.

Wright continue with specifics of the particular incident around which the piece — which doesn’t name names — centers:

When I was on the phone with both of them and heard it drop, heard him say, ‘What if I pulled your hair back?’ and her scream for my help, I wondered like so many times before if I should break the code of silence that surrounds celebrities and invite the police into the situation, and in a split second decided that, yes, I was going to.

This account is similar to the encounter Heard describes in her testimony, having cited Wright as a witness. The Cut notes that this part of the article is reflective of Heard’s divorce filing and her restraining order request. According to the said filing, Heard stated that on May 21, Wright was on the phone with her when Depp allegedly threw his phone at her face, at which point Heard yelled for Wright to call the police. Wright has also been named in Heard’s sworn declaration.

In this anonymized letter, Wright recalls seeing supposed evidence of physical harm and damage, ranging from a pillow covered in blood, to a busted lip. No conclusion on the case has come to a head yet, but Heard and Depp have another hearing on June 17th, the same day Heard’s restraining order against him will expire.