Top Johnny Depp, Amber Heard Trial Tweets All Lean One Way

Twitter's trial observers appear to continue their backing of actor Johnny Depp as his defamation case against ex-wife and Aquaman star Amber Heard is underway. The top tweets driving the most engagement are on his side.

Depp filed a $50 million lawsuit against Heard after she penned a 2018 Washington Post op-ed about violence against women.

In 2016, Heard had accused then-husband Depp of domestic violence and obtained a temporary restraining order against her Rum Diary co-star, which led to a highly-publicized divorce after 15 months of marriage.

Heard received online support back then, especially with the onset of the #MeToo movement circa 2017. Internet commentators held up her story as exemplary of a cultural tendency to dismiss women who come forward with stories of abuse.

After losing a 2020 libel case against U.K. tabloid The Sun for calling him a "wife beater," Depp—who was dropped from his roles in the Fantastic Beasts and Pirates film franchises due to the debacle with Heard—is now seeing an outpouring of support.

This shift appears to have occurred after a number of leaks documenting the couple's tumultuous relationship circulated online, including audio recordings of arguments, deposition videos, and a graphic photo of Depp's bloodied finger, which he said was partially severed after Heard threw a vodka bottle at him.

As of Friday, the top five tweets mentioning "Johnny Depp," "Amber Heard," or both posted since the trial began in Fairfax, Virginia on April 18 are siding with Depp against Heard.

The posts' rankings were determined by their engagement via numbers of retweets, likes, and replies. While these variables quantify the popularity of a tweet, engagement does not necessarily amount to an endorsement of its content.

Most of the tweets empathized with Depp's reactions and demeanor as he took the stand.

In a post retweeted over 119,000 times and liked nearly 640,000 times, user @johnnyhellodepp shared a video of the Edward Scissorhands star listening as the courtroom heard a recorded argument between the former couple.

In the audio, Heard admitted to having "hit" him.

"Johnny Depp's reaction to the court finally getting to hear the audio tape in which Amber Heard admits to abusing him," the tweet reads, using the hashtag #JusticeforJohnnyDepp.

A Johnny Depp fanpage with the username @GellertDepp reacted to the same moment, tweeting: "FINALLY YHE [sic] WORLD CAN F***ING HEAR THIS. AMBER HEARD ADMITTING TO ABUSING JOHNNY DEPP. CLEAR AS DAY ON TAPE!!!"

It garnered more than 66,500 retweets and 497,300 likes.

Twitter user @tasteofsanity shared an image of Depp pinching the bridge of his nose during his testimony.

"Amber Heard's lawyers just made Johnny Depp listen to a recording of himself expressing the desire to self harm," they wrote. "This was the point she drove him to, and he's reliving it all now. He deserved so much better.

"Hold him in your heart today, with all those who've suffered abuse."

The tweet racked up over 73,000 retweets and 667,000 likes.

Another viral tweet by the same user, at over 86,000 retweets and 515,000 likes, reads: "Amber Heard sold an edited video of Johnny Depp slamming cabinets to TMZ and the whole world instantly took her side.

"Johnny Depp provided 80+ CCTV videos, hours of audio, and more than two dozen eyewitnesses, and people still wanna rock up and say 'I think it was mutual.'"

A post retweeted over 118,000 times and liked by approximately 625,000 users contained an edited compilation of clips from Depp's cross-examination by Ben Rottenborn, Heard's attorney.

The video collated moments in which Rottenborn was firm in his questioning of Depp, and times when the actor reacted facetiously.

The tweet, by @mculokii, captioned the video as "johnny depp dealing with clown rottenborn at day 7 court trial."

The Depp-Heard trial saw relatives, friends and associates of the celebrity exes take the stand.

Though star-studded names such as billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk and actor James Franco were expected to make appearances, recent reports suggested they will likely skip out on testifying.

Update, 12:30 P.M. ET, 4/30/22: This article was updated to clarify the status of the trial.