Fact check: False claim that Johnny Depp will tour with Kyle Rittenhouse

Ana Faguy, USA TODAY

June 13, 2022 at 12:26 PM·3 min read

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The claim: Article shows Johnny Depp is considering a national tour with Kyle Rittenhouse on the dangers of defamation

In the days since a Fairfax County jury issued the verdict in the Johnny Depp and Amber Heard defamation trial, some misleading information has been circulating.

A June 2 Instagram post includes a screenshot of a supposed CNN article with this headline: "Johnny Depp rumored to be organizing national tour with Kyle Rittenhouse to spread awareness on the dangers of defamation." The post received more than 100 likes in five days.

But CNN did not publish this story, the screenshot is fabricated, and there is no evidence to support that either Depp or Rittenhouse plan to go on tour.

The same screenshot of the supposed CNN story spread on Twitter as well.

The user who shared the original post told USA TODAY that most of their posts come from someone else and "in the context of my account I think most people will be fundamentally suspicious." They offered no evidence the purported screenshot was legitimate.

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The story is not real

Actor Johnny Depp waves to the gallery as he leaves for a break in the courtroom in Fairfax, Va., on May 23, 2022.

The image in the post does not show a real CNN story, CNN publicist Lauren Bobek confirmed to USA TODAY.

Rittenhouse gained national attention in August 2020 after he went to a police brutality protest in Kenosha, Wisconsin, and fatally shot two men while wounding another – actions he argued were in self defense. He was later acquitted by a jury of homicide.

But the only connection between Depp and Rittenhouse appears to be in comments from Rittenhouse's attorney, and there was no reference of a tour.

Earlier this month, in a Fox News interview, Todd McMurty, Rittenhouse’s lawyer, said Rittenhouse might file defamation cases in the future against Facebook and other companies for calling the Kenosha shooting a “mass murder” incident.

Those comments came the day after Depp, who was successful in his defamation case against Heard, was awarded more than $10 million by a Virginia jury while Heard was awarded $2 million.

Since then, legal experts have said Depp’s success could embolden others to sue for defamation.

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Our rating: Altered

Based on our research, we rate ALTERED an image purporting to show an article about Depp considering a national tour with Rittenhouse on the dangers of defamation. CNN confirmed the purported screenshot was not real, and there is no evidence to support that either man plans to go on tour.