The defamation case introduced by actor Johnny Depp against his ex-wife Amber Heard remains to be ongoing, however the courtroom of social media appears to have already declared a winner.
Posters on Twitter and TikTok have overwhelmingly backed Depp, with hashtags like “JusticeForJohnnyDepp” racking up greater than 2 billion views on TikTok. Similar hashtags have been tweeted hundreds of occasions. A seek for “JusticeForAmberHeard” on Twitter displayed tweets calling for justice for Depp.
Creators and consultants defined why they assume social media dialogue across the subject appears to be overwhelmingly favorable of Depp.
Depp is suing Heard for defamation over an essay she wrote for The Washington Post in 2018, through which she mentioned she had grow to be the “public figure representing domestic abuse.” Although the article by no means mentions Depp by title, his attorneys mentioned it not directly refers to abuse allegations she made against him throughout their 2016 divorce. Heard is countersuing Depp looking for $100 million in damages.
The trial in Fairfax County, Virginia, is predicted to take weeks.
Both Depp and Heard have testified that the opposite had been bodily violent with them throughout the course of their relationship.
Heard’s authorized staff offered proof, together with 2013 textual content messages through which he appeared to say he would topic her to a violent dying, arguing that Depp had been bodily violent with and had made threats against her. Depp appeared to jot down in a special 2013 alternate that he would “smack” her round earlier than letting her in, referring to her utilizing a vulgar insult, in line with Heard’s authorized staff. During the trial, Heard’s authorized staff repeatedly introduced up Depp’s prior drug use, together with his use of cocaine, alcohol and opiates.
In May 2016, Heard was granted a protecting order after she claimed Depp hit her within the face with a cellphone. Depp denied getting bodily violent with Heard.
Depp lobbed allegations against Heard in courtroom as properly, claiming that she would choose fights and escalate them with demeaning language. He additionally mentioned she would typically “strike out,” saying that she would slap or a shove him, or toss stuff at him.
Depp’s legal professional’s offered photographs of Depp after alleged altercations and audio of Heard making statements, comparable to, “I was hitting you. I was not punching you.”
Some on social media again Depp
On platforms like TikTok, movies of the trial, sympathetically edited clips of Depp and audio recordings of the couple, which seem to indicate Heard because the aggressor and Depp because the sufferer, all seem below the “JusticeForJohnnyDepp” hashtag.
Some TikTokers will give play-by-plays of the day in courtroom, recounting the most recent testimony or proof offered. Others recommend unproven conspiracy theories, together with one through which customers say Heard is deliberately mimicking Depp’s outfits as a strategy to psychologically intimidate him.
On Twitter, some who again Depp have urged that Heard isn’t being held to the identical commonplace as male home abusers and criticized her conduct throughout the couple’s marriage.
In courtroom filings earlier than the trial, Heard mentioned she hit Depp solely in self-defense or in protection of her youthful sister, in line with The New York Times.
“Amber Heard got a free pass for her lies and violence for 6 years. This gender bias must end now. Make her accountable for her actions, Virginia, we trust you,” Twitter person and Depp supporter Ayca Gurelman wrote.
Why has the courtroom of social media sided with Depp?
Experts mentioned there could also be many the reason why so many individuals have used social media to declare their support for Depp, together with recognizing him because the characters he’s portrayed in movies comparable to Captain Jack Sparrow from Disney’s “Pirates of the Caribbean” franchise and the titular “Edward Scissorhands” from the 1990 Tim Burton movie.
“Amber, in my opinion, wasn’t known too well until she started dating Johnny,” mentioned Becca Catherall, a TikToker who has posted movies concerning the case. “She became well known when she made the allegations against Johnny and because the world knows Johnny and loves him, I believe that everyone is going to be angry and upset that such allegations have been made towards him.”
Other elements consultants have theorized may play a job within the web’s devotion to Depp embrace internalized misogyny and the dwell spectacle of the courtroom, which some have claimed makes Depp look susceptible.
Seth Lewis, the Shirley Papé chair in rising media and director of journalism on the School of Journalism and Communication on the University of Oregon, mentioned it may be exhausting to pinpoint one purpose specifically because the web’s dominating attractor to Depp.
“Sometimes things become popular because they’re already popular at a baseline level,” Lewis mentioned, including, “I think we’re in this moment where people are fascinated by authenticity. It’s the reason people will find greater trust in what seems to be raw video footage on social media or on YouTube.”
Lewis credit this want for authenticity with why so many have been fascinated by the Depp case — and Depp’s seeming vulnerability on the stand as a purpose so many may be backing him.
Some have mentioned Depp’s quiet and calm responses whereas speaking about earlier drug use and different private issues is an indication of his vulnerability throughout the case.
Lewis added {that a} platform like TikTok is benefiting from this obsession with authenticity, and it makes for an ideal venue to hash out the Depp-Heard case.
Still, he emphasised that for every particular person, there could a special purpose why they latch on to Depp because the case performs out.
“For other people, it’s maybe a feeling that somehow men haven’t been listened to adequately in the Me Too era, and for other people it could be totally different reasons,” he mentioned.
While Lewis urged that some could also be backing Depp as a result of they fear that the Me Too motion didn’t symbolize male victims as a lot because it did feminine victims, others urged that Depp may truly be benefiting from deeply ingrained societal misogyny.
David Schmid, popular culture knowledgeable and affiliate professor of English on the University at Buffalo College, State University of New York, mentioned he feels that some folks may “look at the Johnny Depp-Amber Heard situation for evidence” that misogyny is a factor of the previous as a result of the case has a person accusing a girl of home violence.
Schmid added that folks, who may really feel “cancel culture” has gone too far, might also discover themselves rooting for Depp.
“I think a lot of people look at what’s happened to Johnny Depp’s career as a result of this situation and say this is exhibit A of cancel culture … a lot of people who think cancel culture gets unfairly applied to men more than women will be following this very closely,” Schmid mentioned.
No matter the explanation, TikTokers like Catherall mentioned they really feel the web’s thoughts has lengthy been made up about in the case of this case.
“I do believe that majority of the public have already sided with Johnny,” she mentioned.