Why Does the Internet Hate Amber Heard? What Led to It?

The news has been filled with different articles involving the trial between megastar Johnny Depp and his ex-wife Amber Heard as they are locked in a court battle involving a defamation suit instituted by Depp for a published Heard essay where she claimed that she was a victim of domestic violence and abuse. Now, as the trial is still ongoing, millions of fans all over the internet have already been flocking to Depp’s side and are against Heard. So, why does the internet hate Amber Heard so much?

This Amber Heard hatred all over the internet could be attributed to a combination of different things, such as Johnny Depp being one of the most popular actors of all time, Heard abusing the “Met Too” Movement, and fans believing that she has been lying in her testimonies and statements.

It is easy to see an ongoing trial from only one side, especially if you’re already a biased spectator from the beginning. In that regard, the hatred towards Amber Heard largely stems from the fact that she is up against one of the most well-known celebrities in the world. And let’s look at some of the things that have led to this Amber Heard hatred all over the internet.

Why Does The Internet Hate Amber Heard?

The Johnny Depp Factor

Of course, the entire mess and hatred against Amber Heard began when she and Johnny Depp called off their marriage and when she made allegations that she was abused during the subsistence of their marriage. The allegations of abuse were first brought up in 2018 when a British newspaper called him a wife-beater.

Johnny Depp subsequently sued for libel but eventually lost because the burden of proof was on the newspaper to show that he was indeed a wife beater. The court found that there were 12 incidents of Depp abusing Amber Heard. And this led to him losing the case and eventually some of his roles as an actor.

After that, Amber Heard wrote an essay wherein she stated that she was a victim of domestic violence and abuse. This eventually led to Johnny Depp instituting a separate case for defamation in a Virginia court as we are now at the tail-end of the trial between the megastar actor and his ex-wife.

Since then, the internet has been all over Amber Heard as Johnny Depp had lost a lot of roles ever since the allegations of abuse came out. He had lost his role as Grindelwald in the Fantastic Beasts movie series. More importantly, Disney dropped his Captain Jack Sparrow character from the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise, which has earned over a billion dollars with Johnny Depp at the helm. No one wanted to be associated with a wife-beater, and that’s why Depp got dropped from his different roles.

This all led to the internet ganging up on Amber Heard because we are talking about Johnny Depp here. Most of the people who have been following this case have been fans of the actor since the 90s when he was still a young heartthrob that warmed the hearts of sixteen-year-old fans all over the world. Then his acting prowess surfaced when he began taking on odd roles in Tim Burton movies. And he elevated to megastar when he took on the role of Captain Jack Sparrow in one of the most lucrative movie franchises of all time.

In other words, there is already a bias against Johnny Depp here because he is one of the most popular and most notable actors we have today. We are looking at a megastar going up against someone who was just in the middle of what could have been a rising career had it not been for the issues surrounding her case with Johnny Depp.

This is what we call the Johnny Depp factor, as there are already preconceived biases in favor of an actor who has been one of the most admired Hollywood personalities for decades. Had it been a different actor that didn’t have the same kind of popularity and fanfare surrounding Depp, it would have been possible that the internet’s hatred toward Amber Heard isn’t as deep as it is right now. But, unluckily, she had to defend herself against one of the biggest personalities in the world.

So, in the eyes of the general public, Amber Heard took away Johnny Depp’s roles and, in turn, ruined some of the fond memories that people have of him in those roles. What would Pirates of the Caribbean be without Johnny Depp? And as good as Mads Mikkelsen was as Grindelwald, fans believe that it could have been a much better performance with Depp keeping that role.

Taking Advantage Of The “Me Too” Movement

When Amber Heard wrote that essay about her being a victim of domestic abuse, she did so as the new ambassador of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), a gender-based violence for the civil rights group. In that regard, she had already found her allies in the “Me Too” Movement, which is basically a movement wherein different victims of domestic violence are called to make their voices heard.

Any member or ally of a gender-based group will always ally themselves with Amber Heard because they know what it takes to speak up in relation to domestic violence and how hard it is to live with the fact that they had to endure abuse from their spouses or partners.

But the thing about Amber Heard is that she isn’t exactly an angel herself. There are numerous pieces of evidence that point to the possibility that she took advantage of her status as a woman to inflict harm and abuse on Johnny Depp as well. In one audio recording, she was mocking Depp and was saying that no one would ever believe him if he came out as a victim of abuse because he is a man and is up against a woman. She was basically saying that the public and the law would side with her because she is a woman.

In a way, she was also a perpetrator of abuse as well, and that means that she shouldn’t be someone representing the “Me Too” Movement. Still, to the eyes of the internet, she took advantage of her status as a woman to perpetrate abuse towards Johnny Depp because she knew that no one would believe him and that the civil rights groups in favor of women would always side with her.

While it might be true that Depp did indeed commit acts of violence towards Heard, they are both victims of one another. But the problem is that Amber Heard is feigning ignorance regarding the acts of violence and abuse that she committed against Johnny Depp. And no one likes a person who doesn’t practice what she preaches.

Liar, Liar, Pants On Fire

On top of the fact that Amber Heard was also a perpetrator of abuse herself, she isn’t exactly the most honest person as well. When she penned the essay that is the subject of the case between her and Johnny Depp, she pledged $3.5 million to the ACLU so that she would become a spokesperson for them. In a way, she bought herself into the “Me Too” Movement.

But the problem is that she is yet to dive the ACLU what she had promised them. The money she pledged should have come from the divorce with Johnny Depp, but she is yet to hold true to her promise to that group.

As such, the public has painted her in a bad light as she lied her way through the divorce just so she could get a piece of Johnny Depp’s wealth. Considering that Depp has been a successful actor for decades and already has a huge net worth compared to the humbler wealth that Heard has, fans now believe that she only wanted the divorce and that she claimed to be a victim of abuse so that she could cash in on her ex-husband’s wealth.

This is far too common in many different marriages where one spouse is seeking to get a huge piece of the wealth of the other spouse during a divorce. And there are those who are of the belief that Amber Heard had lied her way through the divorce and even the abuse allegations for the sake of wealth.

Of course, the backlash has made its way to social media, where fans have been mocking Amber Heard’s statements and testimonies because they believe that there are indications of her lying. And there are also numerous discrepancies between her story and that of actual facts, as there are even companies that have called her out by releasing information that isn’t in line with what Heard has been saying the entire time.

So, to the eyes of the general public, Amber Heard is a big liar who only wanted money and is now looking to ruin Johnny Depp’s career for the sake of a personal vendetta against her ex-husband.

Is Amber Heard’s Career Still Salvageable? 

Even if the jury were to side with Amber Heard and would exonerate her of any of her civil liabilities against Johnny Depp in the defamation case, it would be too difficult to salvage her career because the public already has its own biases.

No matter how clear her name is to the eyes of the law, Amber Heard will always be seen as a lying gold digger to the internet, even if that was never the truth. And it will be very difficult for any producer to market a movie that includes her as one of the cast members.

So, regardless of what the law says and what filmmakers think about her innocence or guilt, the general public will always be the ultimate judge because it is the public that buys the movie tickets and pays for the salaries of everyone involved in the film industry. If no one ever wants to watch a movie starring Amber Heard, no one will want to hire her.