Among TikTok’s unbridled incessant coverage of the defamation case against Amber Heard (brought by Johnny Depp) comes a crass, mocking and glamorising reception to the actress’ cross examination by Camille Vasquez—one of Depp’s lawyers. Though Vasquez’s debut was something to behold, the reception to the pair’s back-and-forth has been dubiously portrayed as a “catfight” or “girl fight” in content that has saturated the platform.

In the latest absurd reaction—let’s not forget Heard’s sexual abuse testimony being used in a disgusting TikTok trend—to what is a very real and serious court case, users are snipping clips of the women’s interaction for dramatic effect. Despite being put forward as an appreciation of Vasquez’s skilful and methodical interrogation of Heard, what many users fail to realise is the hidden sexist tropes found in the mode of their adoration.

@hicowbag

I can't get enough of this! amber Heard Vs Camille vasquez dirty looks, hates her | Johnny Depp amber Heard trial cross examination #cowbag #foryoupage #fyp #fypシ #fy #johnnydeppvsamberheard #johnnydepptrial #amberheard #edits #johnnydepp #edit #camillevasquez #amberheardjohnnydepp

♬ original sound - COWBAG

Labelling the lawyer’s integral statements and line of questioning as “clap backs” or editing clips of her giving “dirty looks” and “side eye” towards Heard (which may appear celebratory of Vasquez online) do nothing but belittle her very serious role as Depp’s attorney into a ‘snapping back bitch face trope’—one that a male lawyer would not experience.

Vasquez’s success as a lawyer should not be credited for these moments but in those where she finds answers and carries out her hired role to find holes in Heard’s story. Such situations that have been unearthed include: the Aquaman actress admitting that she had not donated her pledges to charity (an admittance that could warrant a perjury probe), accusations that she had doctored her bruised photos as well as revelations surrounding her love letters to Depp.

@jdeppfan22

Camille is savage! #amberheardjohnnydepp #camillevasquez

♬ original sound - Berna Tizon Ville

What these “catfight” snippets also do is drown out the allegations made by Heard against the Pirates of the Caribbean actor. I am of the opinion that Depp is without doubt a victim of domestic violence, however, that does not immediately discredit the actress’ right to tell her own side of the story in a court of law (that’s how it works, folks) nor does it clear him of his own dubious discretions.

But perhaps the biggest indication of lightly dosed sexism comes from the rumoured narrative—instigated by social media, of course—that romance lies between Vasquez and her client. That’s right, people are actually “shipping” Vasquez with Depp. Rather than appreciating the skill of the successful lawyer for what it is, TikTok users have sought new ways to sensationalise reality into some sort of true crime Netflix series, The People v. OJ Simpson–style. This is a role that the wider media has continued to perpetuate with archaic headlines reminiscent of the early 2000s, just “Who is she dating?” that subjects Vasquez to things her male counterparts would not be.

https://www.tiktok.com/@camillevasquez/video/7095479768572824858?_t=8SPRr179I86&_r=1

This dramatisation of courtroom candour does nothing but remove the role of objective presentation of fact and instead opts for the fictitious elements often evident in dramatic cinematic retellings of ‘true crime’. Comments littered across such content was evident of this. “AH [Amber Heard] is unbelievable! Camille was on fire today! Can’t wait for tomorrow,” one user said.

 While the creator of one clip added: “I’ve been bingeing this trial like a Netflix series.”

The messy details surrounding the Johnny Depp and Amber Heard lawsuit have permeated their way into the forefront of public discourse, namely social media, in what has undoubtedly become a trial on TikTok. Testimonies broadcast on the app by users along with controversial commentary, videos of ‘evidence’ found by supporters and disturbingly strange fan edits of the Pirates of the Caribbean actor is what’s being called ‘coverage’ these days.

Though Heard’s abusive behaviour has been evidenced in court, the misogynistic mocking that has arisen in response to her sexual abuse testimony is worrying to say the least. Surfacing on the platform comes an insidiously dark trend that could set survivors back decades as users sexualise the description of her alleged assault for laughs. Unravelling the progressing societal attitudes towards abuse—largely in part to the #MeToo movement—women, particularly white women, have been creating videos listening to the TikTok sound and “trying to understand where Johnny Depp went wrong.”

Failing to understand where they themselves have gone wrong, this is, unfortunately, not the first wave of the trend. The alarming signs preceded this movement and began with Rolling Stone’s reports of domestic violence, whereby a TikTok audio—which sections a portion of Heard’s court testimony against Depp of physical violence—has been used as skit material. Users are recreating Heard’s description of the incident where she stated, “I was walking out of the bedroom. He slapped me across the face, I turned to look at him. And I said ‘Johnny you hit me. You just hit me’.”

In what could be the most notable example is a video that has been viewed over 16 million times. In it, a cat is used to placate the roles of both Depp and Heard and acts out the alleged slap made by the Fantastic Beasts alum against the Aquaman actress. The worst epithet of this TikTok torrent against Heard are actual couples recreating the scene in a mocking manner—with some even dressing as the pair. And this isn’t some sordid little corner of the internet. No, even some of TikTok’s most popular creators have participated in the acting challenge. With over 18,000 clips made in response to the sound, even users like @llilmaz (who have over 4 million followers) have jumped on the supposed ‘trend’. 

Let’s say for argument’s sake, Heard’s testimony is falsified, this does not suddenly make the context of the claims not about abuse—that fact is still true. And it is this fact that should embarrass those making light of the very serious issue.

https://www.tiktok.com/@heyitsgingerandpepper/video/7095159065109712130?is_copy_url=1&is_from_webapp=v1

@llilmaz

what 😃

♬ original sound - Vntgld

Following Rolling Stone’s reporting, the public pelting Heard is receiving took an even darker and more dramatic turn. In an audio that has since been removed from the platform, users filmed themselves reacting to the actress’ sexual assault testimony, in which she described being held against her will by the neck and her underwear torn off. Their response? “Trying to understand where ‘daddy Depp’ was wrong…”

Though the sound and respective videos are inaccessible for the most part, the emergence of such a trend in the first place is a terrifying result of a prevailing patriarchal concoction that most definitely will impact future survivors coming forward with their own testimonies. In perhaps what can be seen as some bizarre crossover into the world of true crime fanaticism, the unadulterated adoration of Depp—that sets him on some innocent, godly pedestal—is reminiscent of the trials of Ted Bundy and Richard Ramirez. But this time, they’re not just sitting on the back benches of the courtroom, they’re saturating social media in droves.

@baby_misery

#greenscreenvideo I’ll say it one last time despite losing hundreds of followers and receiving death threats #abuse

♬ Cornfield Chase - Dorian Marko

Now, we’re not calling Depp a serial killer here, nor are we denying his valid victimhood to violence at the hands of Heard but—and it’s an important but—he’s not entirely innocent either. His own victimhood does not suddenly negate the crimes he may have committed too. The so-called ‘attractiveness’ of Depp, much like white women’s attitudes to Bundy or Ramirez, has fed into a burgeoning hyper-sexualisation by female fans that distracts the public from real evidence and focuses on how ‘hot’ he is. Sexualising the alleged abusive acts (whether real or not) does nothing but belittle victims of sexual violence and play into the existing vicious tropes of ‘you know you wanted it’.

The ‘uglification’ of Heard that has been happening, on the other hand—whereby people have mocked her appearance, facial expressions and clothing—reenacts classic cartoon imagery: beautiful is good and ugly is evil, in turn, celebrating the sexual abuse TikTok audio because of Depp’s looks.

Maureen Curtis, the vice-president of criminal justice programs at the victim assistance organisation Safe Horizon, told Rolling Stone that the trends were “not surprising.” “When you have a celebrity, particularly one who’s as well-liked like Johnny Depp, accused [of violence], it makes it harder for a survivor to want to come forward, and to be believed,” she said. “People don’t want to believe a well-liked man [could] do things like this.”

While Heard’s abusive actions are, of course, inexcusable, the attitudes to male abusers of the past pale in comparison to the vitriol rallied against her—that is misogyny. Never before have we seen such a public and universal attack against a male abuser. Where are all the male-written think-pieces on supporting the victim when it comes to Harvey Weinstein, Bill Cosby or Jeffrey Epstein? But when a woman is accused of violence, then the entire society (male and female) form a mob with pitchforks and wood at their disposal. Even Roman Polanski, who was convicted of a sexual crime against a child, has been continuously celebrated in cinema—but Heard, now that’s real evil.

The unbridled support of Depp is less about him being the victim of violence specifically and more so crosses over in an evident duality of his privileged maleness. One: if he indeed is also a perpetrator of abuse then he is absolved among fans and his crimes ignored (read: ‘she’s probably lying’) and two: he is also a victim of a violence that is supported, coddled and celebrated for coming forward. In either category, or most likely both, the actor ultimately receives sympathy.

The opposite exists for Heard. As both the victim and the abuser, she is loathed beyond measure. And just like the ghosts of the cases from the past, we will look back in 20 years and wonder how in the world female fanatics of Depp behaved in 2022.