Celebrities Scramble To Remove Their Likes From Johnny Depp’s Celebratory Instagram Statement
Zoey Deutsch, Sophie Turner, and Orlando Bloom are apparently on the list.
Celebrities are reportedly removing likes from Johnny Depp’s Instagram statement posted after he won his heavily publicised defamation case against Amber Heard in June.
Depp launched the lawsuit against Heard, his ex-wife, alleging that she defamed him after writing a 2018 op-ed in The Washington Post about the backlash that women receive after speaking up about sexual violence.
Social media sentiment was undoubtedly skewed in Depp’s favour, but the tide could be turning amid last week’s release of newly unsealed court documents that seem to be giving even Depp’s most devout supporters pause.
The documents reportedly reveal that Depp stating that Heard never actually caused him harm, possible evidence that some of the photos Depp’s team submitted to the court had been edited, suggestions that Depp tried to submit nude photos of Heard into evidence, and disturbing text exchanges between Depp and Marilyn Manson.
And while a huge number of celebrities tapped ‘like’ on Johnny Depp’s June 1 Instagram post where he thanked the jury for “giving him [his] life back,” celebrities who have since removed them reportedly include Bella Hadid, Zoey Deutsch, Halle Bailey, Joey King, Sophie Turner, Orlando Bloom, Robert Downey Jr., and Yungblud.
🧵: Celebrities who have withdrawn their support for Johnny Depp (will keep updating):
— illumi (@SGmymindandme) August 4, 2022
Johnny Depp’s trial made him so popular that he reportedly amassed nearly 7 million new followers on Instagram over the last year. Decontextualised moments of the trial were memorably splashed all over TikTok, giving way to to a deluge of clips that mocked and ridiculed Heard, especially during particularly emotional moments of testimony; whereas Depp tended to be gushed over and venerated.
A couple of weeks after the conclusion of the trial, Heard spoke about her representation on social media in an interview. “Even somebody who is sure I’m deserving of all this hate and vitriol, even if you think that I’m lying, you still couldn’t look me in the eye and tell me that you think on social media there’s been a fair representation,” Heard said. “You cannot tell me that you think that this has been fair.”
She added that she didn’t blame the jury for siding with Depp. “I don’t blame them,” she stated. “I actually understand. He’s a beloved character and people feel they know him. He’s a fantastic actor.”
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