Why Viral Mockery Of Amber Heard-Johnny Depp Trial Is Triggering For Abuse Survivors

Johnny Depp’s fanbase and netizens followed along with his trial with Amber Heard to bring forth viral mockery surrounding the defamation case and their commentaries have gone off limits.

It’s not uncommon for people who have been in an abusive relationship to find it difficult to talk about their experience.

According to NBC Chicago, watching the Amber Heard-Johnny Depp defamation case can trigger a lot of domestic abuse survivors. As followers of the case should listen to both the party’s points of view, the memes and jokes across social media about the trial can aggravate traumas of surviving domestic abuse. 

Memes On Amber Heard-Johnny Depp Trial

Not only has the Pirates Of The Caribbean actor sued Heard for 50 million dollars for a 2018 she had written for the Washington Post, but he is also aware that Heard is counter-suing him for a 100 million dollars. NBC Chicago also says that  the testimony of  Amber Heard about alleged abuse she endured during her relationship with Johnny Depp has drawn the ire of many on platforms like TikTok and Twitter.

The trial of Johnny Depp and Amber Heard has become a pop culture phenomenon that began with gossip, became a meme, and entered the court of public opinion. In the case of Johnny Depp, the actor’s ex-spouse Amber Heard had accused him of domestic abuse in 2016. According to Vanity Fair, a “sad face” Snapchat filter was written as the “Amber Heard filter” after it appeared to mimic her crying on the stand. Rumours are that it had been inspired by the trial and was so prevalent that the app was compelled to officially deny it this week. 

In a report by Variety, a disturbing trend is all over TikTok over for the last several days: dozens of posts on the short-form video service — some amassing millions of views — have used video or audio from Amber Heard’s wrenching testimony in the Johnny Depp trial, with the creators of the videos dramatically reenacting it, performing dances to it or otherwise mocking her.

Heard, who was granted a temporary restraining order in May after she accused Depp of domestic violence, is now being accused of being fake by people on the Internet. The trend includes this video, which has more than 30 million views in five days, with video of Heard emotionally testifying on the stand overlaid with a clip of Kim Kardashian in a judge’s robe from a “Saturday Night Live” sketch saying, “Ew, this is so cringe. Guilty.” 

Suggested Reading: Grotesque Defamation Trial: Johnny Depp Accuses Amber Heard Of Defecating In His Bed

The Johnny Depp and Amber Heard divorce proceedings were filled with accusations of abuse and counter-accusations of blackmail. But the whole case was mostly a sideshow: the courts made it clear that they weren’t interested in Heard’s testimony. Even after so many women have come forward with accounts of abuse in recent years, the Heard trial is a sobering reminder that their credibility is still negated.

It doesn’t matter what she says when no one is willing to hear it. The legal process dredges up relentless grief, and it certainly isn’t weighted toward survivors. If you fight back, you are often framed as complicit in the abuse. Yet the idea that women make up damning stories to entrap innocent men refuses to die. Attorneys for Harvey Weinstein cast his accusers as liars motivated by fame and money. Bill Cosby has repeatedly claimed the same. Woody Allen has characterised his daughter’s molestation allegations as a bid by his vengeful ex to destroy his career. 

From the get-go, Depp sets a tone of defiance, or even just willful contrariness. In the course of his career, he has sued two ex-managers for fraud and malice; one ex-attorney for slander; two former bodyguards for defamation; two ex-lawyers for malpractice; and one journalist for libel (all cases were dismissed). 

There is no fundamental difference between sharing a meme to signal affiliation with a certain group, and simply sharing it because it’s an amusing or interesting piece of content. As these memes (and “late-night comedy” bits) become increasingly central to our shared cultural landscape, we must ask ourselves: Do many of us share them in order to affiliate with a group even if its mission/opinions are not our own? Or do we share them simply because they are entertaining and relatable—no matter what they’re about? Or is it funny to negate the seriousness of divorce and a domestic abuse case? Do we really feel its okay to make jokes about a violent marriage?

Views expressed by the author are their own.