Johnny Depp stans declared him the clear winner in his defamation suit against Amber Heard before she even took the stand

• Johnny Depp is suing his ex-wife Amber Heard for $50 million in an ongoing defamation trial.
• Depp fans are dominating social media proclaiming his innocence and attacking Heard.

Johnny Depp's defamation trial against Amber Heard is in its fourth week, with fans and media outlets poring over each piece of testimony and moment in the court battle.

The verdict in the trial may be weeks away, but on social-media platforms there is already a clear winner. A fierce cohort of Depp fans has taken over Twitter and TikTok, posting memes, fancams, and jokes about lawyers' questions and attacking anyone who speaks in support of Heard.

On TikTok, the hashtag #justiceforjohnnydepp has 7.5 billion views, and #amberheardisaliar has 1.2 billion. It's a stark contrast with #justiceforamberheard, where videos have just 26 million views. Fans on Twitter post photos of Depp smiling and laughing, adding how "proud" they are of him, while Heard is accused of contorting her face, pretending to cry, and copying Depp's outfits to psychologically intimidate him.

Depp and Heard married in 2015 but divorced a year later. Depp is suing Heard, alleging defamation for which he's seeking $50 million in damages, over an essay she wrote in 2018 that didn't name him but made abuse allegations that were widely regarded to be about him. Heard filed a $100 million counterclaim. Both parties have made allegations of physical abuse.

Representatives for Depp and Heard didn't respond to requests for comment.

Many forces may be at play which can help explain the internet swaying immeasurably in Depp's favor, experts say, including a deep-rooted connection to Depp's movie characters, antagonism to the #MeToo movement, empathy over hearing Depp's side of the story, and misogyny.

Kevin Kryston, an assistant professor at Sam Houston State University who specializes in media psychology, told Insider the trial had demonstrated how fans dedicated to celebrities like Depp "consider their fandom as part of their social identity" and are therefore driven to defend the stars as if they're defending themselves.

Depp's fans are intensely watching the court battle, posting edits and mocking Heard's legal team

The creators of Depp's fan accounts often describe what feels to them like a deep emotional connection with the star. Jas, a 20-year-old TikToker who lives in Singapore and whose Twitter and TikTok accounts are dedicated to celebrities, told Insider that Depp was a major inspiration when she decided to pursue film studies.

Jas, who Insider agreed not to name for privacy reasons, said when a 2018 article in The Sun labeled Depp a "wife beater," she "couldn't believe" he was the person described. (Depp lost a defamation case he brought over that article, with a UK judge ruling that The Sun had proved what was written was "substantially true." That trial, unlike the ongoing one, could not be followed live on TV.)

After watching hours of behind-the-scenes footage, interviews, and videos of fans meeting Depp, Jas said she thought he "seemed like a really nice person." Despite initial hesitation to post about the issue, Jas became increasingly convinced that Depp was innocent.

Jas started paying close attention to every detail of the case, and, like many Depp fans, began putting together edits of Depp being questioned in court. One of Jas' TikToks from April 21, described as "Johnny Depp being a SAVAGE in court," has over 42 million views. In it, Depp answers questions — often with sarcasm or humor — posed by Heard's lawyers, with comical music overlaid to ridicule the cross-examination.

"I can feel the insane amount of love and support that Johnny Depp's fans have for him," Jas told Insider of the reaction to her videos.

Many accounts on TikTok have been sharing similar content, often racking up millions of views and hundreds of thousands of followers. Even now that Heard has started testifying, saying that the trial is "the most painful and difficult thing" she's ever gone through and alleging a pattern of sexual abuse from Depp, there is little sympathy, with #AmberHeardIsALiar still trending all over the internet.

In videos, Depp's fans accuse Heard's legal team of "clownery" and of Heard being vindictive and evil. There's particular vitriol for Heard's lead attorney, Benjamin Rottenborn, who has become the subject of intense mockery.

Emily D. Baker, a former Los Angeles deputy district attorney who is now a legal commentator and YouTuber, told Insider the structure of the trial, with Heard's lawyers opening cross-examinations, had also made it easier to cast her team in a negative light. Baker added that Heard's lawyers had also made missteps that had provided viral moments.

"Amber's lawyer objected to his own question, and it was ridiculous," Baker said. "It's these little unforced errors why her lawyers are getting dumped on."

Depp's supporters also tend to swarm their opponents. Becca Catherall, a 20-year-old Depp fan from the UK who has been making TikToks in support of the actor on two accounts, told Insider that anyone coming forward in support of Heard got "nipped in the bud" and "completely ruined" by Depp's defenders.

"I think the whole internet would just blow up if she won," Catherall said.

Even though Depp's legion of fans probably has no interpersonal connection to him, Kryston told Insider that fandoms form intense connections to characters and that his backers perceive him to be the moral protagonist in the courtroom drama.

Some fans, like Jas, see Depp as a flawed hero in need of redemption.

"We acknowledge his drug and alcohol problem, and we don't dismiss that," she said, adding, "We are all trying to get justice for Johnny."

On Reddit, support for Depp extends beyond a fervent fandom into talk about men's rights and #MeToo

The Reddit forum r/JusticeForJohnnyDepp has more than 17,000 members and has become a rallying space for Depp supporters on the platform. It was created in February 2020, almost a full year after Depp began his defamation lawsuit against Heard, but has rapidly gained members in the past month — more than 5,000 in the past week alone.

A moderator of the subreddit, who did not want to be named for privacy reasons, told Insider that as well as die-hard Depp fans, the forum was populated with "men's-rights activists," who might care little about Depp as an actor but support him and believe he is "the victim in this situation."

On social media, many appear to use the trial to criticize the #MeToo movement or cast doubt on women who come forward with assault allegations.

The boundaries that typically separate obsessive celebrity fan bases and political activists on social media have also converged on r/PiratesOfTheCarribbean, a forum for fans of the film franchise that has been overrun with posts about the trial in recent days as posts have rallied around Depp.

Experts told Insider there wasn't any one simple explanation behind why Depp had commanded such an intense and widespread level of online fandom during the trial.

Brooke Erin Duffy, an associate professor of communications at Cornell University who studies gender and social media industries, said factors included differences in Depp's and Heard's professional images and levels of fame as well as in their ability to sway public support.

Heather Kent, a registered psychotherapist and trauma-recovery specialist, told Insider that longtime fans of Depp's movies might view him, subconsciously or not, as the admirable and good-hearted characters he'd portrayed on film. They might connect to characters like Jack Sparrow, Edward Scissorhands, or Gilbert Grape "and find it impossible to believe that the actor could be capable of domestic violence," she said.

Kent also said any polarizing issues, by their nature, could "create a breeding ground for conspiracy theories, hate speech, and worse to develop and thrive."

Baker told Insider that with Depp's testimony over, many people following the case might believe they have both sides of the story — Heard told her account in the 2018 article, and now Depp has told his. But there are still weeks of the trial left, she said.

She also says that no matter what a jury decides, there aren't any real winners in this case.

"Everyone's business has been dragged out through the internet, everyone has things that have made them look bad, everyone's mental health has been pulled into question, addiction has been pulled into question," she said. "It's a bit sad really."

If you are a survivor of sexual assault, you can call the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 800.656.HOPE (4673) or visit their website to receive confidential support.

For more stories like this, check out coverage from Insider's Digital Culture team here.