Reenacting Amber Heard’s Testimony

About

Reenacting Amber Heard’s Testimony refers to a lip-dub trend performed by TikTok creators like Lance Bass where they comedically mimic a moment from the Amber Heard vs. Johnny Depp trial when Heard 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.

Origin

On May 5th, 2022, the TikTok^[1] account nanrodss posted a video that spliced together two separate moments from Amber Heard's testimony, making it appear as if she was fumbling her words and unable to get her story straight. In the video, she is talking about losing her balance, sitting on the edge of her couch, then sitting on the carpet, noticing that it's dirty and becoming upset about its dirtiness. Over the course of two weeks, the video received roughly 2.7 million plays and 221,300 likes (shown below, left).

On May 5th, 2022, TikToker lizzycnaz posted a video (since-deleted) of her lip dubbing and reenacting Heard's testimony. A TikToker left a comment on the video, telling her the video's idea was genius. TikToker^[2] lizzycnaz then posted another video in response to the comment, earning roughly 3.3 million plays and 585,400 likes in two weeks (shown below, right).

Spread

On May 6th, 2022, many TikTokers reenacted Heard's testimony in accordance with lizzycnaz's example. For instance, TikToker^[3] ninaanonsen posted a reenactment that earned roughly 8 million plays and 1.5 million likes in 12 days (shown below, left). On May 7th, 2022, TikToker^[4] helenajanehone44 posted a reenactment that earned roughly 8.2 million plays and 1.9 million likes in 11 days (shown below, right).

On May 16th, 2022, verified TikToker^[5] lancebass posted his own reenactment (since-deleted), earning roughly 1.1 million plays and 125,200 likes in two days (reupload shown below, left). On May 17th, news outlet Page Six posted a tweet^[6] and an article^[7] about the video and trend, expressing dissatisfaction over its perceived insensitivity. In less than a day, the tweet received over 230 likes and many replies, such as one from Twitter^[8] user TheJennyGrace that earned roughly 1,000 likes in one day (shown below, right).

https://www.tiktok.com/embed/v2/7098547563070098731

Various Examples

Search Interest

Unavailable.

External References