Did House Republicans React To The Depp/Heard Trial Verdict With Grace And Maturity Befitting Members Of Congress? No, No They Did Not

On Wednesday, after six weeks of testimony and two days of deliberation, Johnny Depp’s defamation trial against his ex-wife Amber Heard came to an end. The jury decided in Depp’s favor, unanimously agreeing that he and his legal team had proven that Heard defamed him in a Washington Post op-ed. Both sides released statements. Depp said the jury “gave me my life back.” Heard, meanwhile, said she was “heartbroken” but “even more disappointed with what this verdict means for other women.

The trial was a fog of bizarre and disturbing accusations from both sides. Depp re-aired claims that Heard had left poop in his bed while Heard admitted she hit Depp while on Ambien. Chilling texts Depp had sent about wishing her dead surfaced and Heard claimed that his “smear campaign” had cost her work. She also spoke about receiving “hundreds” of death threats since the trial began.

But when the verdict was announced, the House Judiciary GOP’s oft-raucous Twitter account cheerfully took a side, tweeting a gif of Depp in the first Pirates of the Caribbean movie, standing on the nest of a ship, wind blowing his long locks, looking triumphant.

People were more than a little alarmed that a corner of government, one with a terrible track record with women’s rights, was siding with a powerful man who was just awarded millions from a woman who had alleged abuse.

https://twitter.com/halberdlesbian/status/1532092184840785924

https://twitter.com/Esqueer_/status/1532091908708655104

https://twitter.com/jacksonboaz_/status/1532087076916715520

Some tried to point out to Depp who was on his side.

Some joked about Republicans using a movie clip from Disney, who they’d recently made Enemy Number One.

https://twitter.com/katieleebarlow/status/1532096770859311104

Some speculated that the tweet might have come from House Judiciary ranking member Jim Jordan, an infamously bad tweeter.

https://twitter.com/MollyJongFast/status/1532084963084013568

And some called out this GOP account as particularly toxic.