The social network was in turmoil for the six weeks, Amber Heard being the target of particularly virulent criticism.
Liz is on the verge of tears when she appears in front of the camera on TikTok on Wednesday evening. “He did it. He won“, she exults. It’s been six weeks since she scrapped, on TikTok, to defend actor Johnny Depp during the lawsuit he brought against his ex-wife, Amber Heard. She said in a text published in 2018 by the Washington Post have been the victim of domestic violence. The jury mobilized during this ultra-media trial, broadcast live by certain American channels, was returned on Wednesday: Amber Heard was convicted of defamation and must pay 15 million euros to her ex-husband. Johnny Depp will have to pay him 2 million euros, also for defamatory remarks.
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On social networks, many Internet users had not waited for the verdict to express their opinion. And especially on TikTok, in turmoil around the case during the six weeks of trial. The hashtag “justiceforjohnnydepp“was thus”vumore than 19 billion times on the platform, while its corollary “justiceforamberheardpeaked at 17 million views. Behind this wave of content supporting the actor, various user profiles who cut out, mocked and staged footage from the trial.
«I bet it all on TikTok, and it was the right thing to do apparently. I got a lot of subscribers by posting translations of the trial“, explains Liz to the Figaro. The second video she made about the trial skyrocketed her account, with 1 billion views. The 30-year-old then never stopped, posting two to five videos a day to support the actor, between summaries of the trial days and videos mocking the testimony of Amber Heard. She, who describes herself asa cinephile who had posters of Edward Scissorhands“, is a fan of the actor, like many users who knew him in films that marked their childhood, like Pirates of the Caribbean or of Charlie and the chocolate factory. Liz immediately felt “horrible“to have a doubt”on an actor like that, who played Captain Jack Sparrow. It’s impossible».
“Trends” on the lawsuit
Asked, several fans of the actor admit that the movement of hatred born on social networks with regard to Amber Heard is unprecedented. “I’ve never seen someone so hated, and so normalized“says Jasmine, a Canadian in her thirties, who supports Johnny Depp. This calls into question the dynamics created by the short video platform. “You get used to forming an opinion in an instant, then the content spreads like wildfire».
The live broadcast of the trial allowed users of the application to recover images and transform it into a format adapted to the standards of viral content. Some performed choreographies, a format that made the first success of the platform, to the rhythm of the pleading of Johnny Depp’s lawyer. Others have replayed in a comic way the scenes of domestic violence told by Amber Heard. In a video posted Wednesday evening, a user asks, referring to Johnny Depp’s lawyers, “will you miss them too?Another replies:I hope there will be a season 2“. Some users are already offering castings for “l’adaptation Netflixof the trial. Diversions that turned into a “tendencyin itself and which have been imitated by leading brands and influencers.
SEE ALSO – Johnny Depp wants to “get his life back”, assures his lawyer
“A real life to lead”
This de-dramatization of the events recounted is, according to Jasmine, the ability with TikTok to “post little bits of real life, and therefore give the impression that everything becomes entertainment. It’s no one’s fault, it’s just the way the platform is designed“. Sasha, another user who virulently criticized Amber Heard’s testimony, admits: “on TikTok, we only have a few seconds to attract the attention of users, so we have to highlight the highlights. And then, people are a bit of followers».
Camille, 28, who lives in London, posted three videos about the trial. One of them, from a decided point of view, has 1 million views. The other two, in which he supports the less popular opinion “that the couple were mutually abusive», did not exceed 5000 views. Despite her ambivalent view of the case and without being a support for Amber Heard, Camille fears that this online campaign will create a “previousfor victims of domestic violence. In the United States, “hundredsof alleged victims have decided to withdraw their complaints with regard to the treatment of the trial, according to Rolling Stone magazine.
Read alsoAt trial against Johnny Depp, Amber Heard said he received “thousands” of death threats
The media impact of the case and the treatment of Amber Heard have in any case demonstrated the firepower of TikTok to carry out a smear campaign. Jasmine has experienced it herself. Last week, this tattoo artist filmed herself squatting on her bed, drawing with the tip of her needle a portrait of Johnny Depp’s lawyer Camille Vasquez on her leg, captioned with the word “objection».
«I received a wave of hateful comments. Some people told me that I was a waste of humanity“, she explains. After trying unsuccessfully to respond to criticism, she is now working to censor insulting comments. “They don’t realize that by closing TikTok, I’m still a human being with a real life to lead».
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