Fact Check
TikTok videos purportedly show Amber Heard popping a pill during a witness’s prerecorded deposition in the defamation trial brought by Johnny Depp in the spring of 2022. TikToks of the same clip claim she was pulled an unspecified object from behind her ear and eating it as well. The trial pertains to an article Heard wrote alleging that Depp abused her during their marriage.
There is no evidence that Heard took something from behind her ear and ate it in the full view of the entire court, or that she was popping some kind of pill.
After the high-profile trial began in April 2022, fans of Depp engaged in online trolling of Heard, including spreading rumors about her conduct and statements in court. While fans of both parties displayed such behavior, the online campaign against Heard seemed particularly heated.
In this particular TikTok video, Heard is seen rubbing one side of her face with the back of her hand and then putting something in her mouth.
Other posts of the video claimed she was taking a pill:
Some videos investigated the claim that she pulled something from behind her ear and put it in her mouth:
The action took place at around the 6:48:44 mark in the courtroom video below, recorded on May 18, 2022. The prerecorded deposition of Heard’s friend Elizabeth Marz was being played to the court. A few seconds prior to the moment highlighted in the TikTok videos, Heard’s right hand is on the desk in front of her, holding a pen. She then puts it down and picks up a bright blue object (which looks to us like a package of Listerine Breath Strips, though we cannot confirm that for sure). Her hands are hidden behind her lawyer for a few moments after that. Then she looks down briefly, brings her left hand up to her mouth before rubbing the right side of her face with the back of the same hand. She then brings her hand back to her mouth, into which she places what appears to be a breath strip or something similar. When she places her right hand back on the table, it is holding the bright blue object.
There is no evidence that she pulled something from behind her ear, and no way for us to ascertain why Heard appeared to rub the right side of her face before putting something in her mouth. There is also no evidence that what she ate was a pill, or any other kind of medication, or illicit drug.
Making small gestures while seated for long periods of time is not out of the ordinary, whether it means scratching the face, removing stray hair, or something else. We can only posit the most likely explanation based on what is visible, and it strains credulity that she was actually doing what the TikTok videos claim in full view of a courtroom.
This appears to be yet another example of one faction (fans of Johnny Depp) attempting to manufacture evidence that confirms preconceived beliefs they apparently hold about the character of the other party in the trial (Amber Heard, whose fans have also engaged in unsubstantiated speculation). We have covered similar claims before.
We thus rate this claim as “Miscaptioned.”