Bizarre, demeaning: TikTok trend mocking Amber Heard’s testimony in Depp trial is going viral

Videos using clips of Heard detailing abuse at the hands of ex-husband have amassed millions of views

The newest viral trend to have swept across TikTok has left many onlookers shocked, with users of the video-sharing app mocking Amber Heard’s harrowing testimony in the ongoing Johnny Depp trial. Bizarre videos that have amassed millions of views and thousands of likes and comments show users reenacting the actor’s testimony, inventing dances to it and generally mocking video and audio clips of Heard from court.

A video, reported by Rolling Stone to have been viewed over 14M times, shows Heard’s testimony being reenacted by a cat donning a blonde wig to play the role of Heard, later switching into pirate attire to allude to Depp’s famous Pirates of the Caribbean character. The voiceover is Heard’s testimony from the trail, “I was walking out of the bedroom, [he] slapped me across the face, and I turned to look at him, and I said, ‘Johnny, you hit me. You just hit me.'” A comment on the video reads, “This couldn’t be any more creative! Love it! They are better actors than Ms Amber.”

According to Variety, videos posted under the hashtag #amberturd have been viewed over 1.2B times. Several of the videos have been removed by TikTok after posting as they go against the app’s community guidelines, which prohibit “content that disparages victims of violent tragedies”. They further state, “We remove expressions of abuse, including threats or degrading statements intended to mock, humiliate, embarrass, intimidate or hurt an individual.” Despite this, several videos using the Heard’s testimony are still available on the platform.

Heard testified last week that her ex-husband Depp sexually assaulted her and threatened to "carve up" her face with a broken bottle during a heated argument one month after their 2015 marriage.

The 36-year-old Aquaman actror recounted multiple instances of alleged physical and sexual abuse during her second day on the witness stand in the defamation case filed against her by the Pirates of the Caribbean star.

The 58-year-old Depp brought the suit against Heard over an op-ed she wrote for The Washington Post in December 2018 in which she described herself as a "public figure representing domestic abuse."

Heard did not name Depp in the op-ed, but he sued her for implying he was a domestic abuser and is seeking $50 million in damages. The Texas-born Heard countersued, asking for $100 million and claiming she suffered "rampant physical violence and abuse" at his hands.