Amber Heard vs. Johnny Depp

Overview

Amber Heard vs. Johnny Depp refers to the initial domestic abuse allegations against Johnny Depp by Amber Heard that propelled her into a leader of the #MeToo movement. The incident was followed by a lawsuit filed by Johnny Depp against her for domestic abuse and defamation, which he later lost after a judge determined that there was "overwhelming evidence" that Depp assaulted Heard during their marriage.

In mid-April 2022, the trial officially started in Fairfax, Virginia. In both 2020 and 2022, images of Amber Heard's Poop surfaced as evidence as a result of the actress allegedly pooping in Depp's bed on her birthday. The hashtags #AmberTurd and #MePoo followed the development. Additionally, TikTokers started to reenact Heard's Testimony and Dirty Carpet Story, with creators like Lance Bass on the platform sparking controversy because of the trend. On May 27th, 2022, an AMBER Alert went of in the courtroom but turned out to be just a tornado warning.

The trial concluded on June 1st, 2022, with Depp found to have proven that Heard made false statements against him with intent to harm his reputation and was ordered to pay Depp in the amount of $15 million. The countersuit by Heard against Depp resulted in him paying Heard $2 million.

Developments

On May 25th, 2016, after being married for 15 months Amber Heard filed for divorce and sought spousal support from Depp.^[8] On May 27th, Heard was granted a restraining order against Depp because he allegedly attacked her at their penthouse. There were photographs submitted of her bruised face and broken glass on the floor.^[1]

On May 29th, 2016, Depp's daughter Lilly-Rose^[2] posted to Instagram in defense of her father writing, "My dad is the sweetest, most loving person I know. He's been nothing but a wonderful father to my little brother and I, and everyone who knows him would say the same." That same day, Depp's friend Doug Stanhope wrote a guest column^[3] entitled "Johnny Depp Is Being Blackmailed by Amber Heard – Here’s How I Know." His two ex wives also made statements about his innocence.^[4]

Over the next few years, Amber Heard became an activist in the #metoo movement. On November 25, Amber Heard was featured in a Girl Gaze campaign against abuse and encouraging women to speak out (shown below). The video has gained 496,000 views in three years.

On December 18th, 2018 the Washington Post^[5] published an Op-Ed piece written by Heard entitled "Amber Heard: I spoke up against sexual violence -- and faced our culture’s wrath. That has to change."

Defamation Lawsuit

On March 2nd, 2019, Depp filed a $50 Million defamation lawsuit against her and ten days later on March 12th the lawsuit documents were released to the public.^[6][7]

The document revealed new evidence of domestic abuse performed by Heard on security camera videos. The document stated,"With a prior arrest for violent domestic abuse and having confessed under oath to a series of violent attacks on Mr. Depp, Ms. Heard is not a victim of domestic abuse; she is a perpetrator." It also revealed evidence of Heard cheating on Depp saying, "Unbeknownst to Mr. Depp, no later than one month after his marriage to Ms. Heard, she was spending time in a new relationship with Tesla and SpaceX founder, Elon Musk."

Many people tweeted in support of Depp after the documents were released. On March 13th, Twitter user @MirfanMohamad posted a two-panel image of Depp in Pirates of the Caribbean answering the question "You were telling the truth" with "I do that quite a lot yet people are surprised" (shown below, left). The tweet gained 1,645 retweets and 3,200 likes in a day. Other Twitter users used the hashtag #amberheardisanabuser to denounce her behavior (shown below, right).

Therapy Audio

On January 31st, 2020, The Daily Mail^[9] released audio they obtained from a couples therapy session with Heard and Depp in 2015. In the audio Heard admits to hitting Depp: "I don't know what the motion of my hand was, but you're fine, I did not hurt you, I did not punch you, I was hitting you." On February 2nd, Twitter user @erikadhami posted the audio to Twitter which gained over 2,400 likes and 1,000 retweets in a day (shown below).

On February 2nd, the hashtags #AmberHeardIsAnAbuser and #JusticeForJohnnyDepp began trending on Twitter. Twitter user @malaczia^[10] shared a Bird Box meme in which they compare "the media when evidence of amber abusing johnny rises" to Sandra Bullock with a blindfold on (shown below, left). The tweet gained over 27,600 likes and 10,200 retweets in a day. That day, Twitter user @JessMohin_Love2^[11] posted a drawing of Depp with bruises o his face with the caption #JusticeForJohnnyDepp (shown below, right).

Roberta Kaplan, Amber Heard's attorney, told Newsweek,^[12] "The fact that a woman fights or talks back does not mean that she has not been the subject of repeated domestic violence and abuse. It's a myth to say, as Mr. Depp apparently is implying, that if Ms. Heard slapped him, then she can't also be a victim. That is just not true."

Libel Court Case and Departure From Fantastic Beasts Franchise

On November 2nd, 2020, Depp lost a libel case against News Group Newspapers, the publisher of British tabloid The Sun, which published an article in 2018 that referred to him as a “wife-beater” and also claimed there was “overwhelming evidence” that he assaulted Heard while they were married.^[13][14] The article also called for J.K. Rowling to take action against the alleged abuse and remove Depp from his role in the movies.

On November 6th, Depp, who portrayed Gellert Grindelwald in the Harry Potter spinoff films Fantastic Beasts, was asked to resign by Warner Bros. from his role shortly after he lost the libel case. A spokesperson from the studio confirmed that he would leave the franchise and Depp's role would be recast ahead of the third film, slated for summer 2022. That same day, Depp posted a statement on his Instagram^[15] account addressing his departure from Fantastic Beasts, which received over 2.4 million likes in three days (seen below).

Shortly after the news spread online, supporters and detractors of Depp began commenting on the story and his removal from Fantastic Beasts, which led to an influx of memes criticizing Warner Bros. or supporting Depp across social media.

2022 Trial

On April 10th, 2022, The New York Times^[16] wrote an article detailing the upcoming trial, set to start on April 12th in Fairfax, Virginia, where it was set to be nationally televised. In the days prior to the trial, jury members were selected and a list of potential witnesses were announced including well-known celebrities like James Franco and Elon Musk. These two witnesses were included due to Heard exchanging texts with Musk about her marriage that were used as evidence in the British case, and she also said in that trial that Franco saw the bruises on her face after an alleged altercation with Depp.^[16]

On April 12th, the first day of the trial was livestreamed on YouTube via Sky News, which received roughly 290,400 views in one week (shown below).

On April 19th, Depp testified on the stand as a witness, earning lots of reactions online. A clip of him saying he didn't deserve the defamation from Heard received engagement on Twitter after Twitter^[17] user j0hnnycdpp tweeted it on the 19th, earning roughly 537,600 views and 19,800 likes in one day (shown below).

“i didn’t deserve that. nor did my children. (..) i pride myself on honesty. i pride myself on truth. truth is the only thing i’m interested in.” – johnny depp about amber heard. #justiceforjohnnydepp pic.twitter.com/Weqed3rISx

— b ✧⡱ (@j0hnnycdpp) April 19, 2022

People started to use screenshots of Depp on April 19th in memes and tweets going into the latter half of the month, with the majority of them being in support of Depp. For instance, Twitter^[18] user depplyhaIIows posted a tweet on the 19th that earned roughly 22,700 likes in one day (shown below, left). Also on April 19th, RapTV made a post^[19] that claimed Depp had said either Heard or one of her friends pooped in his bed, earning roughly 323,000 likes in one day (shown below, right). This development was reported on by TMZ.^[20]

Verdict

On June 1st, 2022, it was announced that a verdict had been reached on the third day of deliberations by the jury. The verdict was set to be read at 3 p.m. EST, but it was revealed that the jury forms were not correctly filled in and so it was delayed by another 20 minutes. Following the delay, it was read out that Johnny Depp, who was not in attendance, was found to have proven beyond a reasonable doubt that Amber Heard, who was in attendance, maliciously made false statements against him with intent to harm his reputation, and in doing so was told by the jury to pay Depp in the amount of $15 million. The countersuit by Heard against Depp had him payout $2 million to her. The judge reading out the verdict was uploaded to YouTube^[27] by the official CBS News channel shortly after it happened live, gaining over 350,000 views in one day (shown below).

Developments

Heard and Depp Verdict Responses

Shortly after the verdict was read on June 1st, 2022, Amber Heard's Twitter page uploaded an image with multiple paragraphs on it. The text said that she was broken-hearted from the event and called it a freedom of speech issue and that Depp's sway and power is what was the deciding factor in the case, though there was no mention of an appeal. This post^[28] was liked over 135,000 times in 14 hours (shown below).

Meanwhile, Johnny Depp also made a post on his Instagram that was similarly a picture of multiple paragraphs of his thoughts on the matter. He repeatedly mentioned bringing out the truth and about trying to get his life back on track ever since the allegations were brought up six years ago (shown below, click to enlarge).

House Judiciary GOP Tweet

On June 1st, 2022, following the announcement of the verdict, the official Twitter page of the House Judiciary GOP posted a tweet^[29] that included a GIF of Captain Jack Sparrow on the helm of his ship, earning roughly 10,800 likes in one day (shown below).

pic.twitter.com/aSmY4hodN4

— House Judiciary GOP (@JudiciaryGOP) June 1, 2022

The tweet from the government entity sparked controversy on the platform. For instance, also on June 1st, Twitter^[30] user JUNIPER tweeted, "this is insane," earning over 3,000 likes in one day.

$15 Million Settlement

The price point of $15 million that Heard was ordered to pay to Depp inspired memes across platforms going into June 2022. For instance, on June 1st, Facebook^[31] page D-Piddy posted a meme using the What Did It Cost? Everything template, earning roughly 6,000 likes and 2,200 shares in one day (shown below, left). Also on June 1st, Redditor N45F4T_ posted a Terrified Noot Noot meme to /r/memes,^[32] earning roughly 2,800 upvotes in less than a day (shown below, right).

Media Reactions

VICE News

On June 1st, 2022, news outlet VICE^[33] published an article written by Anya Zoledziowski titled, "Johnny Depp Just Won Big-Time Against Amber Heard." In the article, she outlined the trial and the verdict in relation to the evidence levied against each party. The most controversial moment from the article regarded a moment during the trial when the jury heard a string of texts from Depp allegedly saying he wanted to “burn” Heard and that he would “fuck her burnt corpse” to “make sure she is dead.” VICE's Zoledziowski used this to level the public perceptions of both parties.

VICE then posted a tweet^[34] about its article, which earned roughly 28,700 likes and nearly 2,000 quote tweets in two days (shown below, left). Many users did not agree with the tweet's leading quote or purported angle. For instance, Twitter^[35] user V_for_Violetta_ posted a reply giving her own evidence in support of Depp, earning roughly 1,300 likes in two days (shown below, right).

BuzzFeed's "Instagram Likes" Article

On June 2nd, 2022, BuzzFeed^[36] published an article written by Kelsey Weekman titled, "Here's A List Of All The Celebs Who Liked Johnny Depp's Instagram Statement" where Weekman listed all of the verified accounts of celebrities that liked Depp's and Heard's Instagram posts following the verdict. When tweeted about by Weekman on June 2nd, the tweet^[37] received roughly 1,300 likes in one day and nearly 300 quote tweets (shown below).

The article received notable backlash on Twitter by users confused at what it was trying to say about the celebrities who liked the post. One celebrity, in particular, that was discussed en masse was Aquaman's Jason Mamoa, whose co-star in the franchise is Amber Heard. He had reportedly liked Heard's Instagram post alongside a number of other prominent stars.

Memes ensued online following the article and the list of celebrities. For instance, on June 2nd, 2022, Twitter^[38] user tallguyatlarge posted an I Don't Want To Play With You Anymore meme from Toy Story, earning over 440 likes in one day (shown below).

On June 3rd, Twitter^[39] user micsolana then screenshotted the original tweet by Weekman and said, "this is such a psychotic form of journalism," receiving almost 1,400 likes and 121 retweets in five hours.

Release of Sealed Court Documents

In late July 2022, fans of Johnny Depp teamed up with pro-Depp lawyer Andrea Burkhart to unseal pre-trial documents. Burkhart and the fans raised thousands of dollars to pay for the documents’ release, hoping to find more dirt on Amber Heard, but the documents seemed to reveal a much more negative side of Depp, including questionable efforts to block witnesses for Heard’s side from testifying, his team’s attempt to submit nude photos of Amber Heard as evidence, Depp’s friendship and supposed assistance of suspected abuser Marilyn Manson, and Depp’s herpes and erectile dysfunction. The documents also reveal that Heard didn’t take nearly as much money as she was entitled to in the couple’s divorce, and that some of the evidence Depp gave was suspected of being altered. The following tweet by @kattenbarge describes the situation as it was unfolding on July 31st. The tweet earned over fifty thousand likes in approximately one week.

The reveals in the documents led to a much more unfavorable view of Johnny Depp, with many claiming it proves Amber was telling the truth. Others claimed the documents proved the theory of “mutual abuse” occurring within their marriage. Overall, public support for Johnny Depp abruptly dissipated, and a number of famous people unliked his celebratory Instagram post, including Bella Hadid, Robert Downey Jr., Yungblud, Jennifer Aniston and many more, causing drama and backlash online.

Related Memes

Amber Heard Revenge Poop

Amber Heard Revenge Poop, also known as Amber Heard Turd or Amber Heard Poop, refers to Amber Heard, or one of her friends, allegedly pooping in Johnny Depp's bed in 2016 on her birthday. Depp claimed it was a prank from Heard and Heard claimed it was one of their Yorkie dogs. The story and photos were used as evidence against Heard in both 2020 and 2022. The development in April 2022 inspired reactions and memes across social media, like on Twitter where the hashtags #MePoo and #AmberTurd were trending in April 2022.

Mega Pint of Red Wine

On April 21st, 2022, on the seventh day of the Amber Heard vs. Johnny Depp trial, the Law&Crime Network YouTube^[26] channel uploaded a clip from the trial where they show a video that Heard recorded as evidence of his domestic violence toward her. In the video, Depp is seen yelling, cursing and slamming cabinet doors, the glass on at least one of them breaking. Depp pours himself a large glass of wine and finds the camera, grabbing it to stop Heard from recording him. After the video ends, Depp says the clip is illegally recorded and one of Heard's attorneys asks if Depp was drunk in the video, to which he answers, "There's a possibility of that." The attorney then says, "You poured yourself a mega pint of red wine, correct?" Depp repeats, "a mega pint," and the courtroom attendants laugh. He then says, "I poured myself a large glass of wine. I thought it necessary" (shown below). The video went viral, gaining over 7.2 million views in just over a week.

Muffin Questioning / Muffingate

On April 26th, 2022, Dr. Shannon Curry, a psychologist hired by Depp's team to evaluate Heard, took to the witness stand and was questioned by both parties. A key moment in her testimony that inspired memes was when one of Heard's lawyers repeatedly question Dr. Curry about bringing muffins to Heard's evaluation meeting. The defense felt it that the muffins were an attempt to sway Heard.^[21]

On April 26th, 2022, TikToker^[22] learnwithesolarious posted an extended clip of the questioning that earned roughly 343,800 plays and 13,800 likes in one day (shown below).

On April 26th, 2022, many internet users started referencing the nursey rhyme, "The Muffin Man," specifically impersonating the Gingerbread Man from Shrek. For instance, on April 26th, Twitter^[23] user HRH_ItziarItuno posted a video that earned roughly 38,100 views in one day (shown below).

AH' Lawyer: Why did your husband get the muffins for Amber Heard?
Dr. Curry: He didn't get the muffins for Amber Heard!#JohnnyDepp pic.twitter.com/8qXe7VQO0v

— HRH Itziar Ituño (@HRH_ItziarItuno) April 26, 2022

Also on April 26th, TikToker^[24] mrsmorriganamber posted a video that referenced the "Muffin Man" Shrek bit, earning roughly 252,400 plays and 15,900 likes in one day (shown below).

Johnny Depp Drawing During the Trial

On April 27th, 2022, Twitter^[25] user ReemDepp tweeted two screenshots of Johnny Depp drawing during the court hearing. The tweet received roughly 5,700 likes in less than a day (shown below).

TikTokers Reenacting Amber Heard's Testimony

Reenacting Amber Heard’s Testimony refers to a lip dub, wherein, TikTokers comedically mimicked a moment from Heard's testimony when she supposedly "forgets her script," talking about losing her balance, sitting on the edge of a couch and then sitting on a dirty carpet. The trend sparked controversy when many news outlets labeled Bass' and others' videos as insensitive to the case and domestic violence, in general.

AMBER Alert During Closing Statements

On May 27th, 2022, an AMBER Alert went off during Amber Heard's defense's closing statements. This prompted her lawyer to stop speaking and Judge Penney to call it outright an AMBER Alert but nothing to worry about. The alert ended up just being a tornado warning, however. The topic quickly spread to Twitter in the days to come.

Search Interest

External References