The factory of lies, Johnny Depp / Amber Heard affair (France 5): how the actor’s lawyer turned public opinion with scandalous methods

It’s a star trial that certainly has nothing to do with people. Behind the defamation proceedings – against a background of domestic violence – which opposes Johnny Depp to his ex-wife, Amber Heard, another battle is being played out. On the Internet, where the hearing is broadcast and commented on live, the case is invested by a very active reactionary sphere online: the masculinists. These activists, who are based on an anti-feminist ideology, flood the Web with messages of hatred and denigration against Amber Heard. It is the object of theJohnny Depp / Amber Heard case, justice put to the test of social networks, documentary broadcast by France 5 this Sunday, February 12, 2023 at 8:55 p.m. Fake news, parody videos, intimidation: all means are good to discredit his words and therefore, the cause of women. And in this game, the actor’s lawyer was particularly good…

Johnny Depp, Amber Heard… and masculinists

We are at the end of 2018, in the wake of the #Metoo movement. Amber Heard publicly displays her feminist commitments and her professional success, a few years after her divorce from the hero of Pirates of the Caribbean, whom she accuses of violence. This does not sit well with pro-Depp masculinists, who persecute her daily online. Held at discretion by her previous trial, she does not say the harassment she is undergoing but ends up denouncing it in a column published in the washington post. This does not pass with Johnny Depp, who attacks him for defamation. To carry out his legal actions, the Hollywood star relies on his lawyer, a certain Adam Waldman. His mission: to save the actor’s career and restore his image. According to Marie Peltier, a historian specializing in conspiracy, “the libel suit is a basic masculinist technique“: the opportunity to show that a woman is lying, to deduce that all women lie. An argument that will be abused by this lawyer with unsavory methods.

When the lawyer goes on the offensive

Because at the beginning of 2020, the Depp / Heard affair is no longer in the headlines. Adam Waldman is therefore looking elsewhere for relays of influence and getting closer to masculinist Youtubers. A clever strategy, “because many people already have the reflex to think that the general media are lying“, explains the historian. Among these videographers, who have made a specialty of online investigations, there is one who is particularly illustrated: hidden behind the pseudonym ThatBrianFella, the man devotes all his videos to the case. To the point of ensuring in the winter of 2020 to have in its possession indisputable proof of Amber’s guilt: an audio extract of an argument between the couple where only Amber Heard would be violent. this exchange is totally truncated, as the official transcript later revealed by the justice will provewhere the two spouses recognize their anger. The Youtubeur would have obtained the conversion thanks to Adam Waldman himself, who, during an audition will admit to having leaked information. But the damage is already done: ThatBrianFella’s video has millions of views and the lawyer manages to sow doubt, a few weeks before a trial that gave Depp the loser. A tragic story… and unfortunately worthy of a Hollywood film.