Why Kyle Rittenhouse Says Johnny Depp Verdict Is 'Fueling' Him In His Own Defamation Battle
He's inspired by Johnny Depp.
Wikimedia Commons | DFree | Shutterstock Following the jury's ruling in the Johnny Depp and Amber Heard defamation trial, Kyle Rittenhouse shared that Depp's "victory" is "fueling" his want to file his own defamation lawsuit.
In August 2020, Rittenhouse traveled to Kenosha, Wisconsin, and fatally shot two men and injured a third during a Black Lives Matter protest.
He was acquitted of the charges in November 2021, and since then, Rittenhouse has accused several media outlets, President Joe Biden, and other celebrities of "defaming" him.
Rittenhouse praised the Depp-Heard jury after they found both Heard and Depp were defamed, with the jury siding with Depp on three key defamatory statements made by Heard.
They sided with Heard on just one of the claims in her countersuit.
Kyle Rittenhouse shared his support for Johnny Depp on Twitter.
"'The jury gave me my life back.' 'Truth never perishes.' — Johnny Depp. I felt that! Congratulations to Johnny and his team on his defamation suit," Rittenhouse tweeted.
In a separate tweet, he revealed that he had "a new announcement" to make about his defamation cases, telling everyone to "keep an eye on Fox News" and the fundraising initiative he started, The Media Accountability Project's, website "for more this week."
"Johnny Depp trial is just fueling me, you can fight back against the lies in the media, and you should!" Rittenhouse wrote.
During an interview with Fox New's Tucker Carlson back in February, Rittenhouse announced a fund that will help raise money to sue media organizations that had spread "lies" about him.
Rittenhouse told Carlson that he decided to launch The Media Accountability Project as a "tool to help fundraise and hold the media accountable for the lies they said and deal with them in court."
"I don't want to see anybody else have to deal with what I went through," he said.
When Rittenhouse was asked if there are any specific news organizations that he will be suing personally, he responded by saying that his team is looking at "politicians, celebrities, athletes."
On his list were 'The View' host, Whoopi Goldberg, and "The Young Turks" founder Cenk Uygurf, accusing both of calling him a "murderer" despite his acquittal.
Rittenhouse's organization's website labels itself as "the official fundraising vehicle for helping Kyle Rittenhouse hold the worst offenders in our activist media accountable in court."
They also sell products, including shirts emblazoned with the phrase "Accountability Is Coming."
"We're going to handle them in a courtroom," Rittenhouse told Carlson.
Nia Tipton is a writer living in Brooklyn. She covers pop culture, social justice issues, and trending topics. Keep up with her on Instagram and Twitter.