This year’s MTV Video Music Awards may have had some memorable queer moments, but there was one bold decision that polarized viewers — an appearance by Johnny Depp. And many people wasted no time in calling the show out about the bewildering move, including Amber Heard’s sister.
Rumors that Depp would be included in the show started buzzing days earlier. When the time came, he appeared digitally, with his face superimposed on MTV’s iconic moon person, quipping, “I needed the work.”
\u201ci can\u2019t stop laughing, this is what his fans called \u201cjohnny depp\u2019s big comeback\u201d\u201d— lilian (@lilian) 1661732314
It’s a tentative — and bizarre — step back into the limelight following the defamation trial against his ex-wife for writing an op-ed about domestic violence back in 2016. Despite previously losing a similar case against The Sun, allowing him to be forever branded a “wife beater” in the UK without fear of legal repercussion, a jury of his peers ruled in his favor this time around.
However, the real trial played out in the court of public opinion, with self-proclaimed legal experts, fans, and curious onlookers poring over the evidence presented and reaching wildly different conclusions while turning something extremely serious into pure spectacle. Plenty has already been written about that, and it’s no surprise that the divisiveness of the court case translated into a divide over MTV’s decision to platform a man that many believe set a dangerous precedent for attacking accusers.
\u201cJohnny Depp showing up at the VMAs for funny cameos is really fucking gross\u201d— Alex Suskind (@Alex Suskind) 1661733796
\u201cJohnny Depp - a proven abuser - being at the VMAs making jokes is exactly why abuse victims don\u2019t come forward and why the toxic culture of intimate partner violent persists. The entertainment industry is truly irredeemable.\u201d— celia (@celia) 1661779945
\u201cOf course, Johnny Depp was at the VMAs, never want to hear that abuse allegations destroy a man's life \ud83d\ude44\ud83d\ude44\ud83d\ude44\u201d— Ollie (derogatory) (@Ollie (derogatory)) 1661765167
Heard’s sister, Whitney Henriquez, has remained one of her biggest supporters, and was among those blasting the VMAs for including Depp in the show.
“@MTV you’re disgusting and clearly desperate!” she wrote on her Instagram stories, over an image of her sister. “I really hope that none of the people that made this call have daughters…”
She tagged the post both #DVMAS, seemingly a combination of “domestic violence” and “VMAs,” and #IStandWithAmberHeard.
\u201cAmber Heard's sister Whitney slams MTV for having Johnny Depp appear at the #VMAs as the moonman: \n\n\u201cYou're disgusting and clearly desperate!\u201d\u201d— Pop Crave (@Pop Crave) 1661787702
Adding to the strangeness of it all is that people have since come forward on social media claiming to have been audience members at the awards show (some sharing photos of themselves there to prove it), saying they had no idea Depp was digitally there until seeing the reaction online.
“that was pre-recorded and they edited in the applause,” one wrote. “they knew we wouldn’t have it.”
\u201cFans who attended the VMAs said that Johnny Depp\u2019s stunt wasn\u2019t even shown to the audience, it was prerecorded and the applause was edited in.\u201d— lilian (@lilian) 1661813537
While a digital appearance being pre-recorded and edited into a live show isn’t actually out of the ordinary, and wouldn’t prove in and of itself that MTV was trying to avoid an unexpected audience reaction, it also isn’t a great look to present a room full of entertainment industry professionals and fans as eagerly cheering on someone as controversial as Depp when it seems likely that’s not what actually happened.
Heard is currently expected to appeal the verdict in the defamation case, and either way, it seems unlikely this will be a less contentious topic on the internet any time soon.
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