Eight Fan Theories About the Depp vs. Heard Trial That Went Viral

The Johnny Depp vs. Amber Heard trial has been subjected to endless scrutiny with dozens of moments from the courtroom going viral over the past few weeks.

The Aquaman actress, 36, took to the stand last week and made explosive allegations of domestic violence at the hands of her ex-husband, while Depp, 58, himself has alleged that he was the victim of domestic abuse in the marriage.

Social media and stan culture have seen this trial dominate the discourse on platforms like Twitter and TikTok in recent weeks, with a number of theories circulating among fans and the wider public.

Here are 8 theories about the Depp v. Heard trial that have gone viral.

Botox Bruises

A number of fans speculated whether Heard's bruises were caused by altercations with her ex-husband or not.

A photo of the seemingly bruised Heard in the days after the alleged assault was displayed for the court that had social media users questioning whether such bruising was caused by Botox or other cosmetic procedures.

A cosmetic doctor told Newsweek: "Bruising can occur in a multitude of different patterns and itself can vary over time in depth, color and distribution. So it is very difficult to give a solid opinion."

Copying Depp

For this trial, Heard has worn a series of menswear suits with some viewers speculating that she is copying her former husband's sartorial choices.

On April 13, Heard wore a fitted, double-breasted blazer and necktie combo to court. The tie featured a small embroidered bee on the front.

Bizarrely, Depp wore the exact same Gucci tie featuring the small embroidered bee previously, on the first day of the trial.

Others pointed out that Heard donned a grey suit and black shirt combo, also previously worn by Depp.

Cocaine Tissue

A rumor that Heard used drugs while on the stand was also widely discussed on social media after a video of her sniffing into a tissue went viral.

"Anyone else catch amber heard doing a bump of coke today on the stand?" read one tweet, which shared the clip with more than 300,000 views.

Others suggested that Heard had a substance on the tissue to make her cry.

This theory is not possible to prove and remains highly implausible.

Heard's representatives declined to comment on this.

Camera Flash

Another clip went viral of Heard on the stand, with fans claiming the actress posed for a photograph while holding a tissue to her face.

"Amber Heard literally posing for the camera with her tissue. You can't make this s*** up. #DeppVsHeard #johnnydepp," read the viral tweet.

This is also implausible and it is likely that the flash came from the screen in front of her showing evidence.

Lawyer Depp Superfan

A TikTok clip speculating that one of Heard's lawyers, Elaine Bredehoft, is a Depp superfan amassed 3.5 million views on the platform.

The justification for this theory is that Bredehoft bears resemblance to a fan pictured at a Depp premiere years ago.

Jar of Dirt

Depp fans think that the actor quoted a line from Pirates of the Caribbean during his ex-wife's testimony last week.

Heard testified about her ex allegedly having a "jar of cocaine," which prompted smirks and laughter from Depp, who whispered something to his legal team. Viral footage shows that he jokingly quoted a line from Pirates of the Caribbean about a "jar of dirt."

'The Talented Mr. Ripley'

A rumor spread like wildfire on social media last week that Heard quoted lines from the 1999 movie The Talented Mr. Ripley while delivering her testimony.

One tweet with thousands of likes showed a side-by-side comparison of the quote from the film with a quote claiming to be lines from Heard's testimony.

Newsweek can confirm, from a fact-check analysis of Heard's testimony, that she did not say the lines from the film.

In-Laws

Twitter users alleged that evidence showed that Heard's parents, Paige Heard and David Heard, blamed their daughter's lawyers for the domestic abuse allegations and that they were on Depp's side.

A fact-check by Newsweek found this to be false.

While text messages show that David and Paige Heard had a good relationship with Depp, it was made clear that they had not turned their backs on their daughter. Heard's parents had never disparaged their daughter to Depp in the text messages.

The trial continues next week.