It’s fair to say that the Johnny Depp and Amber Heard defamation trial — in which a jury awarded Depp $15 million, later settled down to $1 million — led to a lot of heated and subjective takes. Some of those takes were even reportedly from pro-Depp bots, and as Amber described the experience, she never stood a chance in “a courtroom full of Jack Sparrow fans.”
Amber had originally been sued by Depp for $50 million over a Washington Post online op-ed, in which she never mentioned Depp’s name but identified herself as follows: “[T]wo years ago, I became a public figure representing domestic abuse, and I felt the full force of our culture’s wrath for women who speak out.” Depp’s U.S.-based lawsuit over this op-ed proceeded after his loss in a U.K. libel suit against The Sun; the U.K. court had ruled that the tabloid’s use of the term “wife beater” to describe Depp was “substantially true.”
The subsequent defamation trial devolved into a media circus with accusations involving bodily functions and tons of mudslinging following from supporters of both actors. Even now, to publicly take a side in this saga often invites a pile-on from the other camp. However, The Boys spinoff Gen V isn’t afraid of upsetting anyone.
In this week’s episode, Tek Knight descends upon Godolkin University as part of his true-crime show. He’s hunting for a public-facing answer for why Golden Boy killed himself, and Dean Shetty wonders aloud, “You’re going to blame an innocent student for Luke’s hysteria?”
Tek Knight’s answer: “I’m gonna Johnny Depp someone so hard they’re gonna want to crawl into a hole and die.”
Gen V mocking Johnny Depp The Boys and Gen V are ALLIES pic.twitter.com/h0ks04wJGl
— richter. (@RichterDemi) October 6, 2023
Gen V quickly moved on from that discussion, but it was more than mere shade. The series used “Johnny Depp” as a verb, and people noticed. You can see the clip below.
// gen v spoilers
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this is the first time im seeing a popular media take a stand and it’s against depp. good for them tbh https://t.co/yi3uvnMN1w— liv (@grimeskywalkers) October 6, 2023
Tek Knight: “I’m gonna Johnny Depp someone so hard.” YOO that line goes crazy #GenV #theboys pic.twitter.com/0ujAYu8mLO
— 𝙶𝚒𝚜𝚎𝚕𝚕𝚎// GEN V ERA (@giselleb1234) October 6, 2023
using johnny depp as a verb for ruining an innocent person’s life … gen v i will get you that emmy even if i have to weld the metal myself https://t.co/gZBCVVPYU0
— zoe ☆ 。*: (@zoesenaa) October 6, 2023
Sorry for the wack quality, but the TV show Gen V has clearly taken a side against Johnny Depp. They seem to be implying his name is synonymous with DARVO. I wholeheartedly concur! pic.twitter.com/AH1hHyCWT3
— Miranda Fitch (@miranda_alls) October 6, 2023
Gen V using johnny depp’s name as a way to describe blaming an innocent person and destroying their life to cover up for your own crimes pic.twitter.com/ubJPmGAdZD
— spookley (@LoonieLunas) October 6, 2023
the johnny depp shade in gen v pic.twitter.com/Dv5eXrbbgg
— chaos (@TEAMWlTCH) October 6, 2023
Here you go! pic.twitter.com/5VlX1PAZls
— Happy H-Emilio-ween! (@TheFilmMaestro) October 6, 2023
Amazon’s Gen V streams new episodes on Fridays.