Since April 11, the defamation trial between Johnny Depp and Amber Heard has unleashed the crowds.
At the court in Fairfax, Virginia, the cameras and photographers do not miss a crumb of the twists and turns of the case.
On social networks, many Internet users have chosen their side and seem to have already decided the outcome of the trial.
Every day, the audience is broadcast live on TikTok and the video extracts are taken up by users who adapt them in their own way.
To discover
To listen > our Scandals podcast "Tom Cruise: the mysteries of a life between Hollywood and Scientology"
Read alsoDrugs, violence and severed finger: Johnny Depp and Amber Heard, from love at first sight to the trial
In an April 13 article in the celebrity news outlet
Gawker
, Fran Hoepfner explains that the live broadcast of the trial "isn't much of a CNN live but more of an MTV Music Awards broadcast or of content on Twitch.”
Johnny Depp has become the person to defend and the victim of his former wife with the fans.
“Various Gen Z netizens have shown an active, if not aggressive, interest in the case, joining hands around the world in support of Johnny Depp, whom they see as a calm and gentle victim, against Amber Heard, who 'they see as a vindictive and lying manipulator,' adds Fran Hoepfner.
On video, trial Johnny Depp vs.
Amber Heard: cut finger, alcohol,... Who's lying?
#justiceforjohnnydepp
On social networks, Internet users gather under the same hashtags that constantly fill the captions of their publications.
On Tik Tok, the hashtag #justiceforjohnnydepp has 7.1 billion views and #johnnydeppisinnocent around 1.8 billion views.
On the Amber Heard fan side, the hashtag #justiceforamberheard has 25.4 million fans and searches on the platform also bring up #amberheardcancelled, #amberheardsucks and #amberheardistrash.
According to the
New York Times
, this case is approached through the prism of
stan culture
, a contraction of "stalker" (harasser) and "fans", "which designates a phenomenon of coordinated attacks from communities of vehement admirers towards the detractors of their idol".
@johnnydeepforever
He looks like a winner, don't you think?
#johnnydepp #johnnydepptiktok #justiceforjohnnydepp #amberheard #amberisaliar #court #trial #fyp #viral
original zvuk - daddy depp
Some may think that these messages of support for the actor are the consequence of the numerous testimonies which defended him, heard before the judge and the jury of the court.
But if Amber Heard has not yet been able to speak, it is from this Tuesday, May 3 that the first witnesses will give their version of the facts during the hearing.
"I think it's premature for people to automatically say 'he's the real victim' and 'she's the real culprit' because we haven't heard what she had to say.
Both could very well be victims and victimize each other,” Kellie Lynch told
US Today.
This associate professor in the Department of Criminology and Criminal Justice at the
The idol of a generation
If Johnny Depp is so defended on social networks, it is also because he remains the idol of a generation that grew up with his films, such as
Pirates of the Caribbean
.
According to
US Today,
some psychologists say many people don't want to believe that the actor they admire so much can hurt someone.
"He's a huge celebrity.
He's charismatic… I think there's probably an inherent feeling about wanting to love him and believe him,” Kellie Lynch says.
In his article published on
Gawker
, Fran Hoepfner explains that the community gathered under the hashtag #jucticeforjohnnydepp is often inspired by a certain nostalgia, which sends them back to the time when they discovered this actor.
But she never mentions the stories about her excessive drinking...or the uncharming messages exchanged with Paul Bettany about Amber Heard.
Kellie Lynch also exposes the fact that this lawsuit exposes “the hypocrisy around the idea according to which the victims of sexual or domestic violence must 'be perfect'”.
In this type of case, the victims are most often perceived as virtuous and must not suffer from addiction to be credible.
Yet these events show that Johnny Depp's fight against drug addiction arouses sympathy for the actor.
“We don’t see him stuck in that same perfect victim standard.
And to be clear, we shouldn't use that against him, but we don't really see that when the victims are women."
While the trial is far from over and Amber Heard is just beginning to hear her witnesses during the hearing,