Duolingo Slammed For 'Joke' About Amber Heard On TikTok

Does Amber Heard watch TikTok? It seems like a simple question but it's got the language learning app Duolingo in a lot of trouble!

Heard is squaring off against ex-husband Johnny Depp at the Fairfax County Circuit Court. The “Pirates of the Caribbean” actor is suing his ex-wife for $50 million over a December 2018 op-ed Heard wrote for the Washington Post where she claims that she is a domestic violence survivor. Although she did not mention Depp by name, he claims that he has lost movie roles due to the “clear implication” that he was the “Aquaman” actress’ abuser. Heard is countersuing for $100 million dollars.

It seems that Duolingo placed a comment on an NBC TikTok video that had a lot of fans up in arms.

One user took a screenshot of Duolingo apparently commenting on a NBC News TikTok video covering footage of the trial, specifically, Amber Heard’s testimony.

“y’all think amber watches tiktok,” the account asks. It got 9,880 likes in the screenshot.

“Yepp, she tried to correct her testimony,” one user commented.

“only duo,” wrote another alongside a laughing-face emoji.

“slay duo,” said another user. “I do wonder.”

However, many didn’t appreciate the joke. A user who shared the screenshot commented, “On what planet does a brand - even @duolingo - think it’s cool to crack jokes about an alleged victim of domestic violence? The Depp fandom bubble on TikTok is very real but no brand should get anywhere near it.”

They followed up the post by including resources for victims and survivors of domestic violence.

One user wrote, "Duolingo should stick to what it knows best, a Memory game disguised as 'learning.'"

One user asked, "my question is: why is a domestic abuse case being treated like a tv series?"

One user tweeted, "Late stage capitalism where brands are trying to act like they're relatable people... Dystopian af."

"Where’s the joke?" another user asked. "All they said was 'y’all think Amber watches tiktok' literally just a question you’re reading too much into it."

"I have a terrible feeling some social media manager forgot to switch to their personal profile and is about to learn that actions have consequences," another user wrote.

"No this is pretty on brand for the Duolingo account," another user replied. "It was probably intentional."

Whether it was intentional or not, it probably won't change anyone's opinions on Amber Heard or Johnny Depp - or even Duolingo. For fans hoping that the trial ends soon, closing arguments end in a week on Friday, May 27.

Of course, should one side lose, the other will most likely appeal, which means that this court case could go on for months, if not years...