Saturday Night Live is facing a massive backlash for a recent sketch that appeared to joke about the ongoing defamation case between Johnny Depp and Amber Heard.
This past weekend, the sketch focused on quite a few claims from Depp and Heard’s courtroom battle, mostly the accusation about Heard defecating on their shared bed after a fight in 2016.
‘Saturday Night Live’ Faces Heat For Parody Of The Johnny Depp And Amber Heard Trial
Depp sued Heard for defamation and in response, Heard then filed a $100 million defamation counterclaim of her own — which brings us to this year, where the trial officially got underway in Fairfax, Virginia, on April 11, with every moment being broadcast live across the world.
And at one point during his testimony, Depp alleged that “fecal matter” was found on his side of the bed after he told Heard that he was leaving her. He claims that the dispute was prompted by an argument that came after a dinner party for Heard’s 30th birthday on April 21, 2016.
When the actor was recalling the incident, Depp stated that his security guard, Sean Bett, sent him a photograph of his and Heard’s bed after he had suggested going back to their home to get some of his belongings.
He says that Heard tried to “blame it on the dogs,” which he said was untrue.
And while the alleged incident has not been confirmed, the public was quick to joke about the claim revolving around the defecation, with “Amber Turd” and #MePoo trending across social media for days.
Which led to an entire sketch on Saturday Night Live.
The sketch show’s focused on the ongoing courtroom battle, parodying Depp’s testimony and his claims that Heard defecated in their bed.
Many believed the show’s depiction to be insensitive, as it mainly focused on the unconfirmed claims amid claims that Johnny Depp sexually assaulted Amber Heard.
“@nbcsnl so y’all saw a case involving testimonies about domestic violence, substance abuse, sexual assault, emotional trauma, mental illness, and medical emergencies including people losing actual body parts… and your first thought was ‘this would be a funny sketch for our comedy show!’” one person tweeted.
“@nbcsnl the amount of people involved in snl and nobody thought ‘hey maybe this should be off limits’ ???” echoed another.
“It’s inexcusable to make light of domestic violence in this way,” added someone else before they highlighted that Depp’s house staff were portrayed by Black and Latinx cast members. “This is so racist and insensitive. What year is this from again?”
“Regardless of your thoughts on amber/johnny, making an SNL skit out of an ongoing domestic violence trial is weird as hell and does nothing to support victims of violence,” another said.
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