Amber Heard caught ‘posing’ while crying on the stand?

Article content

With their ongoing defamation trial on a break until next week, Johnny Depp’s fans have been dissecting Amber Heard’s two-day testimony, in which she accused her ex of violently abusing her during their five-year relationship.

Article content

After falsely accusing her of reciting movie quotes from The Talented Mr. Ripley and circulating footage that some fans alleged was proof Heard was snorting cocaine out of a tissue, Depp’s supporters have seemingly caught the actress posing for a crying photo while on the stand last week.

Article content

“She posed for a picture? What the f— is this?” streamer Asmongold commented while watching the clip. “She looked at the person who’s taking the picture. You see the flash right there? So it’s obvious that she made eye contact with the photographer. Man, that really is something.”

“Yes, she posed for sure,” Dr. Lillian Glass told Distractify. “[She] had no liquid in her eyes or nose, [and] she never blew her nose, just put the Kleenex to her nose and kept there. She snuck a peek at the camera to make sure they had the shot.”

On social media, numerous people shared the snippet of Heard posing, with one person imploring Depp’s fans to share the video writing, “SHE JUST POSED FOR A PICTURE AND STAGED THIS!!!”

Article content

Article content

Dr. Glass pointed out to Distractify that holding a tissue to one’s nose isn’t something people normally do. “If anyone had a Kleenex to their nose, they would blow it, not keep it there, unless there was a chronic drip — and if there is a chronic drip, then the Kleenex would have been there consistently.”

In TMZ’s analysis of the viral moment, the celebrity website observed, “Amber does look to hold this pose for what sounds like a camera flash.”

With the court of public opinion solidly in Depp’s favour, Heard was accused of manufacturing parts of her testimony as she painted a picture of an allegedly controlling and physically violent partner, who, as he was known to the world as one of Hollywood’s biggest film stars, was a Dr. Jekyll-Mr. Hyde-like “monster” behind closed doors.

Article content

When she spoke about their relationship, social media users falsely accused Heard of ripping off a line from the 1999 film The Talented Mr. Ripley, a psychological thriller that starred Matt Damon, Jude Law and Gwyneth Paltrow. The movie centres on the relationship between a brash millionaire, Dickie Greenleaf (Law) and a murderous impersonator, Tom Ripley (Damon).

Breitbart reporter Alana Mastrangelo tweeted a video of Heard on the stand and a scene from the film, saying, “A lot of people reacted to Heard’s testimony saying it gave off strong Talented Mr. Ripley vibes … this tweet is meant to show you what she actually said, along with what was said in the movie, and allow you to decide for yourself.”

Article content

The website Snopes searched news articles about the trial and found no reputable sources reporting that Heard had said these words.

“Those spreading these rumours appear to be actively searching for evidence to support a belief that they had already decided: that Heard was “acting” during her testimony in the trial,” they wrote.

Some people on Twitter were also wildly theorizing that the actress was using drugs while on the stand, zeroing in on a clip that has been viewed over 8 million times in which Heard is seen snorting something from a tissue and then rubbing her nose.

Article content

We watched it, and while it appears she is sniffing something out of the tissue, the likelihood that she smuggled an illegal substance into the Virginia courtroom — where she would be subject to a thorough search — is extremely doubtful.

A spokesperson for Depp called the Aquaman star’s testimony the “performance of her life” and promised his legal team’s upcoming cross-examination will “highlight the many fallacies Ms. Heard has now attempted to pass off as fact throughout her convoluted testimony.”

Heard’s rep responded in a statement shared with the Toronto Sun, in which they said, “If Mr. Depp was truly innocent, why has he repeatedly apologized to Ms. Heard and promised to put the ‘monster away for good?’”

Article content

Depp, 58, is suing Heard, 36, for $50 million, claiming that her 2018 Washington Post op-ed defamed him when she described herself as a survivor of domestic abuse. The article never mentioned the Pirates of the Caribbean star by name, but Depp maintains the article implied he was the abuser and impacted his acting career.

Heard has counter-sued for $100 million, arguing Depp smeared her by calling her a liar.

The trial resumes Monday, May 16.

[email protected]