In ‘disturbing’ life case parodying true crime TV, Amber Heard supporters claim to have been harassed and threatened by Johnny Depp fans on social media.
The embattled ex-couple – who made headlines during their first split in 2016 – has split millions since April jury decision Did Heard, 36, slander Depp, 58, when she signed a 2018 op-ed in The Washington Post that appeared to accuse her of her previous love of domestic abuse.
Depp sued actress for $50 million; later heard Filed a $100 million countersuit.
Now that both sides have testified – although Heard’s defense is still ongoing – rabid viewers are using the hashtags #IStandWithJohnnyDepp and #IStandWithAmberHeard to show their support publicly.
While it’s impossible to predict who will win in court, some believe it was Depp who won the social media campaign, as the “Pirates of the Caribbean” star’s tagged video currently has 12 billion views on TikTok alone.
That vocal support also raised its rude head in the hallowed halls of law in Fairfax, Virginia, where a group of female fans gathered to support Depp, Jesse Weber of Law & Crime via Mediaite. “Mostly women,” Weber said. “When hearing . . . while testifying, I overheard a lot of people snickering, making sarcastic comments, and laughing. . . In fact, I observed one of the court officials… telling them to be quiet, to show respect for witnesses.”
In fact, ‘bad headlines’ related to trial ‘circus’ reportedly prompted Hurd fire her PR firm The lawsuit is halfway through.
Meanwhile, with TikTok’s purportedly paltry 44 million views, Heard fans allegedly endured “sexist” trolls on social media who tried to silence her story, According to insider reports.
One woman told the media she had blocked 13,000 threatening Twitter users since the trial began. Another angry Depp fan reportedly tried to shut her down, urging her to “leave social media” and even hurt herself, leading to a series of baseless violation reports.
#IStandWithAmberHeard advocate Katie Diaz first expressed her support for the Aquaman alumna on May 4, claiming she has since received hundreds of “very disturbing messages from strangers” ‘ and threatening messages, suggesting a coordinated ‘attack on women’
Diaz and others who spoke to the insider said that while hashtags are traditionally used to increase visibility for a particular cause, Depp’s trolls are apparently taking advantage of the trend in a campaign to intimidate and sabotage Heard supporters . They think “male rights activists” are behind it all, probably because they probably don’t think men are victims of domestic abuse.
“None of us said that men can’t be victims,” Diaz assured. However, “the abuser is still male,” she added.
Although women are Victims reported more often For men, critics point out that most data on intimate partner violence relies on self-reports. The stigma surrounding male victims of partner abuse can skew statistics.
Several women told Insider that the case between Depp and Heard was close to their hearts and had similar abuses in their own lives. They worry that the negative press surrounding Hurd’s testimony is frustrating female survivors of domestic abuse.
“All Amber’s actions in the stands are being dissected, and now the accusation against the victim means that if she’s crying, she’s acting, if she’s not crying, then she’s not being abused,” said Sara, who concealed For privacy, her last name.
“It’s not just Johnny Depp and Amber Heard,” she said.
