'SNL' Sparks Backlash With Johnny Depp-Amber Heard Trial Sketch: 'This Isn't Funny'
KEY POINTS
- "SNL" poked fun at the feces Johnny Depp allegedly found on his side of the bed he previously shared with ex Amber Heard
- Some viewers and Twitter users said they felt the skit was inappropriate or just not funny at all
- Other Twitter users defended "SNL" and the skit, claiming that comedy "shouldn't have limitations"
Johnny Depp and Amber Heard's ongoing defamation trial was parodied during the latest episode of "Saturday Night Live," and the skit has since raised eyebrows.
The trial was mocked during "SNL's" cold open over the weekend, with comedians poking fun at the feces the "Pirates of the Caribbean" actor allegedly found on his side of the bed after a 2016 argument with his ex-wife. Heard has denied the allegations that she defecated on their shared bed.
But while some viewers found the skit hilarious, a number of fans and social media users said they felt it was inappropriate or just not funny at all.
"Yikes… Aside from just not being funny, couldn’t you have at least had someone following the trial write it?! [Amber Heard's lawyer Elaine Bredehoft] would never be that coherent. And why admit Amber cut off the finger and pooped in the bed, then assume Johnny made her do it?! Why not bust on her fake crying??" Andy Signore of Popcorned Planet tweeted.
"I grew up watching 'SNL,' so I understand they make jokes about current events. This is just disgusting and cruel. How are we making jokes about a trial that has included graphic descriptions of r*pe? It’s not funny, and it’s not something that should be played for laughs. Do better," another Twitter user opined.
"'SNL' should apologize and stop in its tracks on this. Domestic violence is not funny," Heard's journalist pal Eve Barlow tweeted.
"[This is] not funny and so stupid. You should do some research before you shoot some sketches. You missed the point [of] what this trial is about, and it's [definitely] not funny. The fact [that you] don't understand that proves 'SNL' is not as good as it used to be," a fourth person wrote.
Other Twitter users, however, defended "SNL" and the skit, claiming that comedy "shouldn't have limitations."
"That was hilarious!!" one Depp supporter commented.
"I'm sorry, but when did anything become off-limits for satire? In any case, this is about the poop, which is honestly the most absurd detail I've ever heard in any trial," another Twitter user wrote, addressing those who said "SNL" should have skipped such a sensitive topic.
"They wouldn’t constantly do it if people didn’t constantly find it funny. It might not be your humor, but others can enjoy it, and that’s what comedy is for," a third user added. "Comedy shouldn’t have any limitations. 'Southpark,' for example uses all the stereotypes and is relevant and popular."
"To everyone in the comments, the sketch is about Amber [allegedly defecating] in bed, which the whole country is laughing at, and how the judge looks like she wants to drink when Amber speaks so this isn't about [domestic violence]," another opined, before adding, "I hope they have Johnny on as a guest host after all this is done."
In the parody of the legal battle, the jury was shown surveillance video of Depp's (played by Kyle Mooney) house staff discovering the fecal matter. When presented, Judge Penney Azcarate (Cecily Strong) allowed the video to be shown because "it does sound fun, and this trial is for fun," she joked.
The sketch then cut to the fictionalized security footage of Kenan Thompson posing as property manager Leonard Green and discovering "boo-boo" in the actor's bed.
When Depp's landscaper (Ego Nwodim) arrived, the two then debated who or what might have left the deposit.
"No, that mess didn't come out of no dog, it came out of a dehydrated adult," Nwodim joked.
"Maybe the wife did it?" Thompson said.
"Why would she boo boo in her own bed?" Nwodim responded, to which Thompson replied, "Well, remember, she already cut the boy finger off, and my daddy always told me, 'If a girl cut your finger off, she will boo boo in your bed.'"
During the trial, Depp testified that Heard allegedly blamed the fecal matter on their small dogs. He also alleged that his ex-wife threw a bottle of vodka at him, severing the tip of one of his fingers.
Heard has denied the allegations.
Depp is suing Heard for $50 million over a 2018 op-ed she wrote for The Washington Post in which she described herself as a "public figure representing domestic abuse." The "Fantastic Beasts" actor said the "fabricated" allegations were about him, even if the piece didn't mention him by name.
He denied Heard's allegations of abuse and violence and claimed that the op-ed destroyed his reputation and cost him several projects, including "Pirates of the Caribbean 6."
Depp's defamation trial against Heard resumes Monday in Virginia.
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