Recruiter faces backlash for fake Johnny Depp, Amber Heard testimony ad
A LinkedIn recruiter crafted a fake Johnny Depp, Amber Heard post trial testimony to advertise a job at his firm
June 16, 2022
A recruiter on LinkedIn sparked outrage after he drafted a fake testimony of Johnny Depp and Amber Heard to post a job advertisement.
Shawn Barnes, an employee at GTN Technical Staffing and Consulting, wrote a faux post trial transcript between the former couple to grab the attention of users at the site.
However, the job ad received backlash as netizens slammed the recruiter for turning a domestic violence case into a joke.
“BOMBSHELL,” the post on the job hunting site read. “The conversation between Johnny Depp and Amber Heard had at the end of the trial has been leaked!”
In the fake testimony, Heard repeatedly asks Depp to look at her face as she finally asked him if he still loves her.
“Amber, this might be the last time we ever speak, so please listen to me very carefully,” Depp replied in the fake job post. “If you know of a Data Analyst with experience in Python, SQL, A/B testing and Excel, you absolutely need to call Shawn Barnes with GTN Technical Staffing. He is the best!”
Reacting to the post, which has garnered 246,246 reactions so far, one user wrote, “Turning a domestic abuse case into a photo-shopped meme to recruit on LinkedIn, huh?”
“Not sure what's worse, the disgustingly distasteful joke or amount people who find it funny,” another added.
Other readers dubbed it as “Pretty distasteful” and “Irresponsible post” while one user commented, “Using a trial about partner violence for lols. That’s pretty tasteless.”
“This is so gross, don’t even know what to say,” someone chimed in.
Taking the debate to Twitter, one user bashed Barnes as she wrote, “I can't be the only one who thinks using that lame fake transcript post of Johnny Depp and Amber Heard over LinkedIn is really cringe.”
“Like what are we doing here y'all? Ugh LinkedIn is truly a dumpster fire,” she added.
However, some people really find Barnes' post funny as they noted it was “awesome” while one wrote, “Lovely post! Just pulled everyone’s attention to the end point.”
Another LinkedIn user commented, “Hahahaha this is absolutely greatttt! I was soo invested.”
“HAHAHHAHAHAHAH YOU DESERVE A PAYCHECK JUST FOR COMING UP WITH THIS,” a comment read.
“One of the most captivating employee search posts I’ve ever seen!” one reader reacted as another noted, “Genius recruitment strategy.”
