An Australian bakery called Dessert Boxes took some heat for a dessert box that poked fun at the ongoing defamation trial between actors and former spouses Johnny Depp and Amber Heard.
The Dessert Box in question featured a donut that was made in the shape of a hand with one finger raised — which staffers at the bakery then cut off with a vodka bottle. In a video shared on TikTok, they promised to send the hand to Heard — they held back the severed “finger,” which they said they would send to Depp separately.
@dessertboxes Will she like it? 😂 #amberheard #justiceforjohnnydepp #amberheardjohnnydepp #dessertboxes #funny #donuts ♬ original sound – Dessertboxes
“We’re sending Amber Heard a Dessert Box,” someone says on the video. “We cut off the finger with a vodka bottle, we’ll throw that in for her too.”
Holding up the severed donut “finger,” the voice adds, “And we’ll send Johnny Depp this piece.”
The video — and the Dessert Box — appeared to be meant as a joke referencing recent testimony from the trial about a fight between Heard and Depp that had occurred while they were still married in 2015.
“Questioning was particularly intense over a March 2015 fight the couple had in Australia, shortly after they were married, while Depp was shooting a fifth film in the ‘Pirates of the Caribbean’ franchise,” NPR reported. “It was during that fight that Heard says she was sexually assaulted. Depp, on the other hand, says he was the victim, and that he lost the tip of his middle finger when Heard threw a vodka bottle at him.”
While some did find the video amusing, a number of people did not appreciate that exchange being made the punchline of Dessert Boxes’ joke.
“That’s not ok,” several people responded. “Jokes about [domestic violence] will never be funny,” added another.
“POV: how to go out of business,” another user quipped, while one more asked, “Oh so we laughing at people’s trauma now?”
NBC’s weekly sketch comedy show “Saturday Night Live” also took heat for making light of the trial in a skit that focused on an incident in which Heard left feces in Depp’s bed.
“This is f***ing weird. regardless if you support any of the two in this trial to any extent, it’s bizarre how one of the most publicised domestic abuses cases ever is being spun into a really s*** joke. this doesn’t help victims of abuse at all, and just makes it harder to discuss,” one YouTuber tweeted at the time.