The Amber Heard/Johnny Depp courtroom drama continues. But this time, it has reached a disturbing low: Heard is being accused of stealing Rihanna’s 2009 account of being assaulted by Chris Brown during her infamous ABC News interview.
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In 2019, Depp sued his ex-wife for $50 million over a 2018 op-ed she wrote that was published by The Washington Post. The article was titled: “I spoke up against sexual violence—and faced our culture’s wrath. That has to change.” In it, Heard explained that during her marriage she was a victim of domestic and sexual abuse (Depp was not named in the piece).
In response, she is countersuing for $100 million in damages. This high-profile trial started last month and has been broadcasted live as well as covered by an array of media outlets. Saturday Night Live received backlash after they decided to spoof the proceedings in their most recent episode.
During testimonies by both Heard and Depp, the former couple described violence they allegedly inflicted on one another. Heard has been transformed into countless memes that mock her abuse on social media.
When Heard took the stand last week to describe a violent altercation with Depp, she stated: “It felt like he was on top of me, and I’m looking in his eyes and I don’t see him anymore. It wasn’t him. It was black. I’ve never been so scared in my life.”
Now in a clip that received millions of views on Twitter and TikTok, Rihanna’s 2009 words and mannerisms are being compared to Heard’s testimony. “It wasn’t the same person that says I love you. It was not those... eyes,” Rihanna says to Diane Sawyer in the video. “He had ... no soul in his eyes. Just blank. ...He was clearly blacked out. There was no person when I looked at him.”
In addition, memes of Rihanna’s bruised face taken after the Chris Brown incident to show what “actual abuse” looks like have recently resurfaced. “For those saying #IStandWithAmberHeard this is what real abuse looks like. Being “beaten within an inch of your life” and only having a Botox/filler bruise on your eye is NOT how you would look,” one user tweeted while comparing images of the singer and Heard.
This trial has brought out the worst of the internet, retraumatizing domestic abuse survivors and making it harder for them to come forward with their experiences.
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