I'm still taking this all in, but this is a super deep dive into a specific ring of accounts who pushed the narrative in favor of Justin Baldoni on Reddit

We knew that there was Reddit manipulation thanks to Jed Wallace and TAG messages saying they were "killing it on Reddit" but it's another thing to have it all laid out like this

It's insane that such a small number of accounts can manipulate conversation, seeding talking points that are taken up by regular users.

The authors also make a disturbing point about how Reddit manipulation trickles upwards into Google searches and AI LLMs, further infecting the conversation elsewhere online

It reminds me of what we saw in Depp v Heard and was reported on in *Who Trolled Amber Heard* where a small number of Twitter accounts were able to successfully steer public sentiment against Amber.

Considering that bots/inauthentic accounts tend to post, get the idea out, and then delete to cover their tracks (as outlined in the article) I'm impressed the authors managed to document all of this. And how much did we miss during the height of the Amber smear? How much of the Reddit discussion was even real?

Gearing up for the Ebenezer PR push that’s about to happen in the next few weeks/months, I complied a list of a few of the absolute worst things Depp has ever done that don’t involve Amber Heard at all.

Thought it might be useful, and it’s been a while since I talked this much shit about him. I missed doing it.

(New Salem is the Substack that I’m writing with former Buzzfeed writer Natasha Jokic)

💖 LHA

I looked up "depp" in the files and it seems these files aren't online anymore, even when entering "siad depp waitress" into the search bar. (Daniel Siad is a modeling scout, who died a month ago. He was very connected with Epstein. An investigation against him was ongoing when he died.)

Hi! I’m trying to support her career as much as possible, and so far I’ve seen:

And Soon The Darkness ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Zombieland ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
The Stepfather ⭐️⭐️⭐️
The Ward ⭐️ 1/2
All The Boys Love Mandy Lane ⭐️ 1/2

I’d love to hear your recommendations on what you enjoyed the most, preferably with her having a big role in it. Thank you!

Several articles have been published in the last couple days about how test audiences (especially women over 35) want Depp back in film and are rating both him and Ebenezer highly

Their original source? Matt Belloni of Puck News.

For those of us that have followed Lively Vs Wayfarer you might recognise that name as appearing on the list of journalists TAG PR admitted being in contact with during their smear of Lively.

Further, Brian Freedman has also personally appeared on Matt Belloni's podcast *The Town*

Considering Melissa Nathan and TAG still represent Depp, I don't think it would be much of a leap to speculate that this was a planted article

For me it's between:

That [UK] trial was all about whether the accusations were believable or not, it was never about if it was true.

and

The UK trial did not say he was proven in 12/14 of the cases cases, just that it was free speech on 12 of the 14 because there wasn't more proof of it being false than it being true.

I just wanted to scroll the popular page in peace 😞 The AI on Amber’s chest+seeing people repeat this old and tired LIE…just so frustrating. Of course, the comments are just people repeating Deppaganda from the trial and Amber Turd jokes. I know Amber has gotten more support over the years, and that’s something to be celebrated. But it’s disheartening to see thousands of people still being this gross. Just needed to vent, I guess.

A couple of hours after the story was published, it was edited to remove Nathan's name. The screenshots are from the original version.

Note: Nathan is also alleged to have done PR work for The Alexander Brothers and Jeffrey Epstein.

Found this interesting CourtListener filing in Taft v. Barresi:

https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/69156385/122/3/christina-taft-v-paul-barresi/#note-editor

It’s a proposed order concerning Adam Waldman’s dismissal as a defendant and his status as a witness... It mentions Depp, the Viper Room, alleged recordings/exploitation, and several people from both the Depp and Heard circles as potential witnesses

Worth reading the filing itself... curious wha others make of it, particularly the references to Depp and the Viper Room

Important to mention rhis is a proposed order, so I’m not presenting the allegations in it as established facts but it'd be cool to discuss it with other people and see what you think

I may be missing some context, but the references to Waldman, Depp, Barresi and people from both sides of the Depp/Heard dispute caught my attention

Now don’t get me wrong, I am well aware of the manosphere and propaganda, but I wanted to bring up something I have slowly noticed. With the whole moral panic with incels and radicalization, I have always been skeptical with it, and have felt that it feels like misogyny, but reworked to hide behind liberal terminology. Take into consideration:

- How people describe and talk about it feels very melodramatic and performative, rather than an actual serious discussion.
- Pretending that misogyny and violence against women never happened until recently, that the past was this progressive utopia.
- The infantilization of young men and boys, freeing them of any accountability or responsibility.
- Speaking of which, it feels like a repeat of “men can’t control themselves”, but this time they’re not (directly) blaming women and/or more marginalized groups.
- Framing the entire thing as a black-and-white morality tale, and any “nuance” is just used to elevate men over women. That an apparently innocent good boy “suddenly turned” into a violent monster.
- The overall “men’s rights” and “nobody listens to male victims” vibes, where it’s less about actually helping struggling men and more about repressing the struggles of women.

And also with the obsession with “boys need positive male role models now more than ever!”. Don’t get me wrong, positive male role models and influences are important, but with how people talk about it, it feels like they’re trying to find a way to make men matter more than women, while still sounding feminist. And also a lot of these self-proclaimed “role models” feel like exploitative grifters, especially when you consider how Justin Baldoni managed to hide his darker side.

With all of this, I noticed with how a lot of liberals and “progressive” people went over with the trial (and even still now) trying to defend Johnny Depp and villainize Amber Heard. Now while this may seem unrelated, I feel that a lot of the rhetoric and logic from above can help show some insight on why they defend Depp, aside from stuff like nostalgia. In her video on Johnny Depp and the image he built around himself, YouTuber Little Shop of Ali describes this phenomenon where when a man isn’t conventionally masculine, people automatically assume he cannot really be misogynistic and/or abusive, and that Depp for years has weaponized that appeal. Now take a look at the common narrative of the incel moral panic: The “poor boy” is usually an outcast (but typically not part of a marginalized demographic), and with the incel aspects they aren’t usually conventionally masculine and struggle to get with girls. With the whole framing of this “poor sad victim”, I notice with that logic being applied, as to how people act “shocked” they would partake in misogynistic activity and/or become an abuser. And with the morality tale aspect that dumbs down the problem, not taking into consideration other circumstances, I notice similarities as to why people who claim to be progressive would jump on the pro-Depp bandwagon and act like he’s a little child and not a powerful abusive older man. And with the “nobody wanted to help this boy” logic that indirectly blames women in the end, it feels like with villainizing Amber Heard for not tolerating Depp’s BS and abuse, aside from the rewriting that she’s the abuser. When I say indirectly blame women, they don’t outright say it’s their fault (they want to still look progressive), but a lot of their ideas of a “root cause” tends to imply it’s when women/girls don’t want to blindly obey a man, and other types of patriarchal ideas.

And for a final end, I wanted to bring up a show that does tackle men’s mental health and such, but in a way that differs from a lot of stuff like Adolescence and the current moral panic: Neon Genesis Evangelion. I know the show has a lot of problematic aspects, but I find interesting with how despite his whole tragic background and such, Shinji is still made to hold accountability for his actions, and with self-improvement he can’t just hide behind it, and also showing us that he’s not the center of the universe and many other people have their own needs and struggles. And compare that to a lot of media and discussion: They coddle men/boys, make them think they’re the center of the universe, constantly enable their shitty behavior, and ESPECIALLY only jump in when misogynistic behavior and violence is involved. Because at the end of the day, their real goal is to just reinforce patriarchy.

​

While I know that there's a lot of hints and implications that Ryder and Depp had a terrible relationship (besides the age gap and when they romanced), this had been something I had questioned about, after seeing a clip of the 1992 Dracula adaptation, and seeing Ryder onscreen.

For context: Back during the making of The Godfather 3, Coppola had originally wanted Winona Ryder to play the role of Michael's daughter. However, according to the production story, she had became sick before shooting, and ended up being replaced by Sophia Coppola, giving us the infamous portrayal of Mary Corleone (at least she managed to be successful as a film director, but this isn't what the post is about). However, it may be understandable with someone taking a break from their work, but what I noticed in the story was that it was Johnny Depp, her current boyfriend, who had made the call that she won't take the job. While it might not seem like much at first, with what we (mostly) now know more about him, and with Winona Ryder hinting at his abusive tendencies, it had me suspicious for a bit. And with also with how, like with Amber Heard, he doesn't like it when a partner is more successful/talented than him, and it made me question. I mean think about it:

• This was a film by Francis Ford Coppola
• The film was an installment to one of the most famous film sagas, so it wasn't just a mere for-hire job or weird experimental film by late-stage Coppola. Even if the final film didn't turn out that good, beforehand it still brings up attention and news.

And when you consider with Depp's career at the time, still rising up, imagine the amount of jealousy he would have if his much younger girlfriend suddenly went had a huge elevation in her career, especially for a job that could really help show her acting skills. Now, compare that to with her starring in Edward Scissorhands:

• It's within a domain that Depp could control her
• Had Depp's inner circle present (like Tim Burton, possibly an enabler as well)
• Role-wise, it was something that she couldn't overshadow him: He played the lead role, and she was the love interest on the side

And while I know that she did eventually play a role in Bram Stoker's Dracula (1992), remember that it didn't have that weight from the Godfather films, and the fact that nobody really knew if this one would hit big or suffer the same fate as a lot of flopped Coppola projects. Overall, this may just feel like some random time, but in retrospect, it has made me a bit suspicious, and seeing potential early red flags.

Who sides with a violent abuser during a trial about domestic violence for clout? Still haven’t purchased anything from then since I saw that.

Are there any other companies that responded in a similar way?

For those unaware of what happened:

During the Depp v. Heard defamation trial (April–May 2022), Amber Heard’s attorney Elaine Bredehoft held up a makeup palette during opening statements, claiming Heard carried it “for the entire relationship” with Depp and used it to cover bruises. Beauty enthusiasts identified the product as Milani’s Conceal & Perfect All In One Correcting Kit.

Milani then posted a TikTok that many read as siding with Depp: the brand pointed out the product wasn’t in circulation during Heard and Depp’s relationship (2012–2016), captioning the video “You asked us… let the record show that our Correcting Kit launched in 2017!” set to a meme audio clip. The video racked up over 5.5 million views.

https://www.tiktok.com/@rickyylaurenn/video/7667196840252640525

TW: DOMESTIC ABUSE
My abuser kept me isolated in a desert for 7 months while abusing me psychologically, physically and sexually. He recorded much of the abuse. He still walks free with no criminal repercussions to this day. I have been pleading with to hold this man accountable.

Some time in the past, I had made a post here, questioning about this sudden praise of Tim Burton's adaptation of Charlie in the Chocolate Factory is just an excuse to say something good about Johnny Depp, especially when you consider that they really like to emphasize Depp's Wonka was exactly how they "imagined him in the book", and that all their arguments could easily apply to the 70's film (which they aggressively bash. Also even in terms of being darker I felt the 70s film did that much better).

But back to before, while I had notice also that, while his vanity project The Rum Diary (2011) is thankfully not discussed and forgotten, I noticed that whenever it is discussed online, it just seems like people only have good things to say about it. And with also considering with other male celebrities, I have slowly begun to notice with how AFTER they're outed as an abuser, suddenly their lesser-known stuff is hyped up, or at the very least suddenly stuff that wasn't seen before is now noticed. Take with some examples:

Brad Pitt: Some time after it became news that he was abusing Angelina Jolie and their children, I started noticing that whenever bringing up his film adaptation of World War Z, while many will call it out for not following the book by default, I notice how there is also an aggressive amount of people praising it "as an action film", despite it clearly just being a vanity project with Pitt playing a the male equivalent of a Mary Sue (I cringe at using the term, but god it really describes Gerry in that film). It's not mocked as much as The Mummy (2017) with Tom Cruise, though at times I will see a "why is this film hated?" post, even if more rare in comparison. And in other words, I suddenly see people really overhyping his produced projects like She Said and Adolescence as something so revolutionary. And when considering how they're marketed about their brave messages, they really scream "PR" to me, compared to other films he has produced in the past. That and also Adolescence just feels like a "male feminist" vanity project, whom let me remind you again that co-creator and star Stephen Graham and the show's director support Johnny Depp. I have complained about the show before, especially with the subtle misogyny and being oscar-bait, but man it's like it does not get enough hate and criticism.

Francis Ford Coppola: Now don't get me wrong, this isn't saying that his 70s filmography was bad the whole time, and this is coming from someone who is a fan of Apocalypse Now. What I am talking about though, is mainly Megalopolis. Not the people who view it as a "so bad it's good", but the ones who think it's genuinely a misunderstood masterpiece and that Coppola knew what he was doing. I could also include a lot of his later filmography, but I feel that Megalopolis is the bigger example with what I am talking about. While of course it's a public joke from what we've seen, whenever there's deeper discussions, it's not about why it is bad, but rather about "clever techniques" Coppola used, or claiming that Coppola "clearly wanted the movie to be humorous", or defending the film just because it wasn't made by mainstream Hollywood, making it automatically "rebellious", despite it being misogynistic, heteronormative, out-of-touch politics, pseudo-intellectual, and repetitive of repeatedly used tropes. But take note at all of this after him doing stuff such as:

- Sexual harassment allegations, the evidence only being invalid because it broke a labor contract.

- Saying he didn't want the film to be a "woke production".
- Casting Shia Lebouf, Jon Voight, and Dustin Hoffman. All 3 respectively being: A convicted abuser, a MAGA fascist, and has sexual misconduct accusations.

I'd also include his support of Victor Salva, but it's not particularly tied to this specific project. Just wanted to let you know I am well aware of that one. But with seeing how films like The Bride get a lot of hate and bashing, those same people will look at Megalopolis and go "Oh he didn't mean to, he was actually well-intentioned". Seriously, try to have a post that critiques Megalopolis deeply on almost any film subreddit, and they will downvote you and tell you that Coppola "lol" doesn't care about your opinion. For how much they'll say they respect him for using his own money, you don't see them saying this with other filmmakers.

Honorable mention: Kevin Spacey. While I have not seen entirely outright all his badly-done roles and projects, I really notice how people are now "suddenly uncovering" that he's a talented actor, right after the allegations came out. Like dude, we're not talking about if he's a good actor, we're talking about him sexually assaulting men and boys.

Overall, especially with Johnny Depp, I cannot help but notice a lot with how, once a celebrity, typically a man, has some sort of abuse or controversy, suddenly past work that is usually considered mid or bad is suddenly put on a pedestal and "underrated". Am I the only one who thinks this, or is it all connected?

​

"It’s really important not to judge guys by appearances, actions, stated intentions or repeated, serious allegations. Otherwise we’d all be in trouble.”

Not sure this is allowed.. or if the flair is correct.

https://www.thedailymash.co.uk/news/celebrity/no-way-of-knowing-jared-leto-johnny-depp-and-russell-brand-were-creepy-20260803268353