Of fan merch and support signs: What the Johnny Depp-Amber Heard defamation trial says about stan culture

High-profile celebrity cases have drawn a wide audience ever since Court TV began broadcasting from courtrooms in the 1990s. In addition to the live coverage on TV, YouTube, and various news and entertainment websites, countless short clips edited for maximum virality have circulated on Instagram and TikTok — “fancams,” in social media parlance, featuring forensic analyses of Depp’s and Heard’s trial attire, and courtroom exchanges that have been described as “SAVAGE.” Depp, 58, is suing Heard, 36, over an essay she published in The Washington Post in 2018 about sexual violence, in which she described herself as a “public figure representing domestic abuse.” Although Depp was not named in the article, he has argued that it clearly alluded to him, damaging his reputation and career. In a TikTok video captioned “AMBER HEARD CAUGHT LYING AGAIN,” Ethan Trace gleefully recounts how Heard’s lawyer said in court that the actress used a makeup palette to cover up bruises Depp gave her during their marriage. “Stans will literally go to any extent to defend anyone,” he said of Depp’s supporters, adding: “Amber Heard, she has not got that fan base.” Marianne Nafsu, 32, a true-crime content creator from Detroit who has posted about the case, said: “I can’t wait to hear her side when she stands trial.” She added that “it’s only fair to listen to both sides and see: Where’s all this coming from?” Asked for a comment on the fan response, Heard’s lawyers provided her friend Eve Barlow, a music journalist who has been tweeting in support of Heard. I’m just saying that we have an opportunity to look at our own myths and stereotypes around ‘Who’s the victim and who’s the perpetrator?’” On TikTok, many of Depp’s supporters have posted about a recording in which Heard says: “Tell the world, Johnny, tell them, ‘I, Johnny Depp, a man, am a victim too of domestic violence,’ ” and continues, “See how many people believe or side with you.” Scout Robert, 24, was taken aback by Heard’s words.