If you were to google “Amber Heard body language”, more than eight million results will pop up. Most direct you to so-called “experts” in non-verbal communication, who can be found dissecting the actor’s gestures during the defamation trial brought by her ex-husband Johnny Depp. Most come to dubious conclusions about her authenticity, the veracity of her allegations against Depp, and her intentions as a human being. One video, by the YouTube sensation The Behavioural Arts, suggests that a “sudden shift in cadence” during Heard’s testimony was part of a larger “cluster of deception”. The video has garnered 5.7 million views to date.
Other attractive targets for self-ordained body language savants include Love Island contestants, the royal family, and celebrities embroiled in scandal. The practice has also become a widespread internet pastime, with amateur sleuths taking to Reddit and YouTube to disseminate true crime theories using kinesics, or the idea that certain gestures can reveal deeper secrets. Meanwhile, over on TikTok, armchair experts pathologise the body language of the young Hollywood set.
