Viral crying face filter not inspired by Amber Heard, Snapchat confirms

Several netizens believe the filter is a response to the actor's breakdown in court during Depp trial

A snapchat filter that makes subjects appear as though they are crying is getting a lot of attention for the wrong reasons. Several netizens are reported to believe that the filter has been inspired by actor Amber Heard’s breakdown during the Johnny Depp defamation trial. However, the company has denied any such intentions, given the fact that the filter was in development six months before its social media debut, well before Heard took the stand in court.

The filter is an augmented-reality lens that can be superimposed on people’s faces to make it appear as though they are crying. A TikTok user even went as far as juxtaposing a picture altered by the filter and Amber Heard’s pictures from the trial to prove that it has been built as a mockery of the actor. 

The Amber Heard filter is going hard, and they are killing me🤣🤣

— Queen of the Night. (@abi_nayo) May 10, 2022

Responding to TMZ, representatives of the photo-sharing app denied any link to the ongoing trial or the actor. The company clarified that the filter is meant to accompany the recently released smiling filter. 

The filter isn’t the only feature of the social media circus surrounding the trial. The newest viral trend to have swept across TikTok has left many onlookers shocked, with users of the video-sharing app mocking Heard’s harrowing testimony in the ongoing 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. 

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 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.