It’s official: Johnny Depp has joined TikTok.
Just days after securing a win in his highly publicized civil defamation trial against ex-wife, Amber Heard, the Pirates of the Caribbean actor on Tuesday joined the social media platform where legions of his fans meticulously documented every step of the seven-week case.
He quickly amassed 4 million followers on his verified account, where he describes himself as an “Occasional Thespian,” and he posted his first video on Tuesday to thank his “treasured, loyal and unwavering” fans. The highly filtered montage showcases several clips from the trial, including the actor inside a car waving at hoards of fans outside the Fairfax County courthouse, him playing guitar, and even a shot of himself typing on a typewriter.
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The TikTok also has several clips of Depp making one of his surprise appearances at a Jeff Beck concert in England—shows that prevented him from returning to Virginia on June 1 to be present when the jury rendered their verdict. Depp used the song “Stranger” by Love Joys as a soundtrack for the montage, which had been viewed 1.1 million times and garnered 45,000 comments less than an hour after it was posted. He also shared the video on his Instagram, where it received comments from celebrities like Naomi Campbell.
“We’ve been everywhere together, we have seen everything together. We have walked the same road together. We did the right thing together, all because you cared,” Depp captioned the TikTok. “And now, we will all move forward together. You are, as always, my employers and once again I am whittled down to no way to say thank you, other than just by saying thank you. So, thank you. My love & respect, JD.”
The comments on the video show that fans’ affinity for the actor has not wavered since the trial’s culmination, with hoards of TikTokers welcoming the actor and expressing their love.
“We have been waiting for you,” one commenter wrote.
In response to the actor’s TikTok debut, a spokesperson for Heard told The Daily Beast that “as Johnny Depp says he's ‘moving forward,’ women's rights are moving backward. The verdict’s message to victims of domestic violence is...be afraid to stand up and speak out.”
The video is Depp’s second public statement after a jury awarded him over $10 million in damages after finding Heard defamed him by authoring a 2018 Washington Post op-ed in which she described herself as a domestic-violence survivor. The jury, which took three days to deliberate, also awarded the Aquaman actress $2 million in compensatory damages after finding she was defamed when Depp’s ex-attorney, Adam Waldman, described her claims as a “hoax.”
Throughout the trial, dozens of witnesses and both Heard and Depp themselves took to the stand to make harrowing claims of abuse and damaged careers. The allegations galvanized legions of Depp fanatics to defend the actor, praising his time on the stand while mocking, and dissecting, every move and allegation Heard and her legal team presented. After the verdict, Depp took to Instagram to thank his fans, saying he was “overwhelmed by the outpouring of love and the colossal support and kindness from around the world.”
Heard, who claimed on the stand that Depp’s legal team launched a “smear campaign” against her and that she was routinely bombarded with negative social media comments, called the verdict last week a “setback” for other women.
The verdict “sets back the clock to a time when a woman who spoke up and spoke out could be publicly shamed and humiliated. It sets back the idea that violence against women is to be taken seriously,” she added.
