GERMAN LAW outs Johnny Depp fans trolling Twitter user who compared Amber Heard to Gabby Petito

GERMAN LAW outs Johnny Depp fans trolling Twitter user who compared Amber Heard to Gabby Petito
A Twitter user was suspended for a thread comparing Amber Heard (R) to Gabby Petito (L) (Instagram/@gabspetito, Vittorio Zunino Celotto/Getty Images)

A Twitter user, who was suspended after being reported by Johnny Depp fans for comparing the actor to Brian Laundrie and Amber Heard to Gabby Petito, has now revealed how she was silenced, thanks to a German law.

Earlier this month, a Virginia-based jury ruled overwhelmingly in Depp's favor and awarded him more than $10 million in damages after deciding that Heard defamed him in a 2018 Washington Post op-ed about becoming a "public figure representing domestic abuse." While she did not mention Depp in the essay, his lawyers argued that the implications were obvious and damaged their client's career. The seven-member jury also awarded Heard $2 million in damages on one of her three defamation counterclaims.

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The original account of Twitter user Kamilla (handle @k4mil1aa) was allegedly suspended after she posted a thread claiming Depp used "DARVO, many abusers do" against Heard. "J*hnny D*pp sympathizers mass reported my account after I posted a thread exposing him for using DARVO, like many abusers do. The tweet went semi-viral and talked about the many DV experts that acknowledge Johnny as the abuser," the user tweeted from a new account.

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According to Jennifer J Freyd, a professor of Psychology at the University of Oregon, DARVO refers to "a reaction perpetrators of wrongdoing, particularly sexual offenders, may display in response to being held accountable for their behavior." The acronym stands for "Deny, Attack, and Reverse Victim and Offender." Freyd states that the "perpetrator or offender may Deny the behavior, Attack the individual doing the confronting, and Reverse the roles of Victim and Offender such that the perpetrator assumes the victim role and turns the true victim -- or the whistle blower -- into an alleged offender."

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In her original Twitter thread, Kamilla wrote that she couldn't believe "that after the Gabby Petito case, in which her fiancé convinced the cops that he was the victim, ppl now believe that a 23 yr old actress just starting her career somehow abused a multimillionaire A-lister twice her age, that has another trial for assault next month." Florida resident Laundrie, 23, was found dead in October 2021, just weeks after he allegedly killed his fiance Petito, 22, during a cross-country road trip.

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"Brian Laundrie was making jokes and laughing with the cops while he watched his fiancé get arrested for supposedly abusing him. Johnny Depp was making jokes and laughing with the courtroom while he painted his ex-wife as the abuser," the Twitter user continued. "When Gabby Petito’s case became public, there was an ongoing conversation about how victims are perceived as hysterical and unstable, while abusers typically remain calm. It’s absurd how just months later, the culture has shifted back to being willingly uneducated about DV."

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Kamilla noted how cops described Petito as a "hysterical woman" in a 2021 report. "In 2021, cops deemed Gabby Petito a “hysterical woman” in the report. In 2022, non-board certified psychologist Dr Shannon Curry diagnosed Amber Heard with Hysteria after only 12 hours of evaluation. Dr Curry faced a lot of criticism from the psychologist community."

The Twitter user said she also wanted to point out that "in both the body cam footage and the courtroom clip, Brian and Johnny claim that they had to 'calm down' their victims. This is a very common way in which abusers avoid getting caught, and they also use it to gaslight their victims." 

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Following her suspension, Kamilla said that she found out why her account had been taken down and who was behind the reports. "Thanks to German law I found out what JD sympathizers were reporting me for and it was the thread, which didn’t violate Twitter rules. So I’m curious why I got suspended? @TwitterSupport."

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She added in a follow-up tweet, "They were also reporting my profile. Again, which doesn’t violate the Twitter rules. @TwitterSupport. I’m just curious if Twitter suspends people if they’re being mass reported? It’s crazy cause I get many death threats from JD stans on the daily."


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Twitter told the user it is "required by German law to provide notice to users who are reported by people from Germany via the Network Enforcement Act reporting flow." According to the website, Network Enforcement Act (NetzDG) is a German law that went into effect on January 1, 2018. "Under this law, Twitter is required to publish a report twice a year in German regarding our handling of complaints submitted pursuant to Germany's Network Enforcement Act," the platform states.

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Amber Heard and Johnny Depp attend the 'Black Mass' Virgin Atlantic Gala screening during the BFI London Film Festival, at Odeon Leicester Square on October 11, 2015, in London, England (John Phillips/Getty Images for BFI)

During an interview with Today's Savannah Guthrie last week, Heard called the trial verdict a "setback" for women, and that she was "scared" that it will mean more "silencing" of survivors hoping to come forward with their allegations. She also said she was hoping her arduous courtroom ordeal would "mean something" to her daughter Oonagh when she grows up. The actress is reportedly planning to appeal the unanimous jury decision in the defamation case brought on by her ex-husband Depp.

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