False Amber Heard Claims Sweep Internet
After actress Amber Heard took the stand to face libel allegations leveled by Johnny Depp, thousands of people supporting her ex-husband flooded social media to make wild claims about her testimony, including accusations that she plagiarized lines from the movie The Talented Mr. Ripley and used cocaine in front of jurors.
During her testimony last week, Heard painted a picture of an allegedly controlling and physically violent Depp, who, as he was known to the world as one of Hollywood’s biggest film stars, was a Dr. Jekyll-Mr. Hyde-like “monster” behind closed doors.
The first time Depp allegedly hit her was after she laughed at a tattoo on his arm.
“I had never been hit like that. I just stared at him. I didn’t say anything or react,” she said. “I just stared at him. He slapped me one more time, hard. I lost my balance and all of a sudden I realized that the worst thing happened to me that could happen … He just hit me.”
The posts circulating Twitter falsely maintained that Heard reenacted a scene in which Paltrow’s character said: “The thing with Dickie… it’s like the sun shines on you, and it’s glorious. And then he forgets you and it’s very, very cold… When you have his attention, you feel like you’re the only person in the world, that’s why everybody loves him so much.”
Breitbart reporter Alana Mastrangelo tweeted a video of Heard on the stand and a scene from the film, saying, “A lot of people reacted to Heard’s testimony saying it gave off strong Talented Mr. Ripley vibes … this tweet is meant to show you what she actually said, along with what was said in the movie, and allow you to decide for yourself.”
According to Page Six, the NotSkinnyButNotFat podcast pointed out on Instagram that Jennifer Garner once used a similar quote to speak about her ex-husband Ben Affleck.
In 2016, Garner opened up to Vanity Fair on her relationship with Affleck, saying, “I always say, ‘When his sun shines on you, you feel it.’ But when the sun is shining elsewhere, it’s cold. He can cast quite a shadow.”
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Another false claim came from @AuditTheAbsurd, who circulated a fake transcript along with the words: “OMFG. Check this out. Amber Heard on the stand yesterday and what she said compared to the lines in The Talented Mr Ripley. Holy smokes this is CRAZY. #JusticeForJohnnyDepp.”
Snopes searched news articles about the trial and found no reputable sources reporting that Heard had said these words.
