
A hashtag protecting Amber Heard trended Monday on Twitter after what regarded to be unsealed courtroom docket files withinside the defamation case introduced via way of means of Johnny Depp had been made public via way of means of a YouTuber recognised for her felony remark.
The hashtag, “#AmberHeardDeservesAnApology,” first surfaced over the weekend after The Daily Beast posted a number of the findings from the courtroom docket files. Heard’s group stated Depp, her ex-husband, sought to introduce nude pics of Heard into proof, in line with The Daily Beast. Her attorneys additionally counseled that Depp altered or edited audio recordings of the couple fighting, the booklet reported.
Attorneys for Depp and Heard declined to comment. NBC News has now no longer independently reviewed the files, however it has visible purported copies circulating on-line, inclusive of pages published via way of means of YouTuber Andrea Burkhart on her website. Burkhart, a attorney primarily based totally in Washington, has accrued 50,000 fans on YouTube, wherein she posts felony remark approximately diverse celeb trials which have generated public hobby withinside the remaining year. She didn’t reply to request for comment.
The on-line support, which became spawned via way of means of a number of her enthusiasts, marks a shift in mindset towards Heard, who, throughout the six-week trial in Fairfax County, Virginia, have become the middle of backlash from Depp enthusiasts whilst the lawsuits had been broadcast throughout the country.
Since Heard introduced allegations towards Depp, social media customers have ferociously defended Depp. Hashtags like “#JusticeForJohnnyDepp” racked up billions of perspectives on systems like TikTok throughout the trial.
The discourse across the trial has remained a not unusualplace communication on social media systems. Some committed customers have endured to lambaste Heard whilst lauding Depp. Supporters of Depp and the creators who included the trial, a number of whom monetized their coverage, have additionally labored for weeks to discover new information about the case, which concluded June 1.
Depp had sued Heard over her 2018 op-ed in The Washington Post, wherein she stated she had end up a “public discern representing home abuse.” Although the essay in no way referred to Depp via way of means of name, his lawyers stated it circuitously noted allegations she made towards him throughout their 2016 divorce. A jury offered him $10 million in compensatory damages and $five million in punitive damages in his defamation suit. Heard, who countersued Depp, became additionally offered $2 million in compensatory damages. Punitive damages are capped at $350,000 in Fairfax County.
During the trial, Ron Schnell, the director of Berkeley Research Group, an global consulting firm, testified approximately the hashtags he tested from April 2020 to January 2022. He stated he discovered extra than 2 million bad tweets associated with Heard.
In latest weeks, Burkhart, the YouTuber, generic donations from visitors of her channel to pay over $3,three hundred to down load the brand new courtroom docket files, which had been unsealed July 13.
After publishing the files, which incorporate extra than 6,000 pages, on her website, Burkhart and her fans ignited extra scrutiny of Depp from human beings on-line.
Some of Heard’s defenders stated that Depp misplaced a libel case withinside the United Kingdom years in the past over allegations that he hit Heard. Depp had sued the enterprise that owns The Sun and the newspaper’s government editor for calling him a “spouse beater” in 2018. A decide dominated towards Depp in 2020, pronouncing the tabloid had supplied significant proof to reveal that he became violent towards Heard on at the least 12 of 14 occasions.