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'This movement is very much ALIVE': Tarana J Burke defends #MeToo after Johnny Depp legal victory

'You can’t kill us. We are beyond the hashtag. We are a movement,' the #MeToo founder said

Me Too founder Tarana J Burke has shared her opinion on the Johnny Depp vs Amber Heard defamation suit and the jury's verdict in favor of the actor. Burke said the movement is far from dead, and shared a brief statement on her Instagram, saying, "This is the same legal system that y'all have been relying on for justice and accountability for decades to no avail. When you get the verdict you want, 'the movement works' - when you don't, it's dead."

Depp's win against Heard is being seen by many as a body blow to the #MeToo movement. But Burke cautioned against writing off the movement. She recalled an earlier case by saying, "When Weinstein went to jail it was, 'me too is winning!' When Cosby came home it was, 'What a blow, me too is losing!'"

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She continued, "In the meantime - millions of people who have never been able to utter the words 'it happened to me' have released the shame that wasn't theirs to carry in the first place. We have built the country's first political agenda created solely by Survivors." Burke added, "And for the first time since Anita Hill took the stand three decades ago we've had a sustained national dialogue about, not just sexual harassment, but the spectrum of sexual violence in this country. That's in addition to various laws and policies passed, etc. This movement is very much ALIVE."

The caption further read, "You all want to play ping pong and have your way with the hashtag because it doesn’t mean anything to you so you try to kill it every few months. But it means something to millions and millions of folks. It means freedom. It means community. It means safety. It means power. You can’t kill us. We are beyond the hashtag. We are a movement."

Netizens expressed their opinion on this via Twitter. One said, "So because he is a male the "me too" doesn't apply to him? Because men can't be victims of domestic violence? If that is the case then the movement is a joke. It should apply to both Men and Women!"

Another user said, "She said she created it for women & men & that's true (ex. Kevin Spacey). What is being done to prevent the misuse of the movement tho?" Another Johnny Depp fan said he is proud of the actor, "Proud of Johnny not being afraid to speak up against an tyrannical abuser like amber".

Another said, "Amber should be blocked from this movement. She’s been found guilty of lying ~ and the entire court proceeding showed her to be no more than a Flim-Flam Artist."