Milani Cosmetics

**Milani Cosmetics** is a cosmetic firm founded in 2002 that focuses on luxury cosmetics for women of various skin tones. The brand became involved in the US trial when they posted a viral video on their TikTok channel in which they tried to paint Amber Heard as a liar, for which earned them a huge backlash.

## Trials

### US trial

During the opening statement of the US trial on April 12, 2022, Amber Heard's attorney Elaine Bredehoft held up an unnamed four-color compact concealer makeup palette as demonstrative prop and explained that Heard used makeup to cover her bruises throughout her relationship with Johnny Depp and became very adept at it.

The cosmetic firm Milani Cosmetics recognized the palette Bredehoft was holding as their Conceal + Perfect All-in-One Correcting Kit palette, and quickly jumped into the opportunity to generate publicity for their company by creating and posting a TikTok video in which they claim Heard couldn't have used the specific product to cover any alleged bruises during the relationship, because it had not been released until after the relationship ended. The video promptly went viral, becoming the company's most watched video. Subsequently, Milani's interference is reported widely by media outlets and fuelled conspiracy theories by Depp supporters about Heard's usage of makeup to allegedly lie about abuse.

However, neither Bredehoft or any of Heard's other attorneys ever stated that the particular product Bredehoft held up is the exact item Heard used during the relationship. In fact, at no point was any brand or product mentioned, as fact checked by Newsweek. Later, during her testimony, Heard also explicitly clarified that the palette was used as a generic example for a compact in general to illustrate how far she had to go to cover up her injuries. “This is what I'm talking about, a color correction kit. This is not, obviously, the exact one I used to carry, but I used to carry it with me all the time.” Heard described in her testimony how she used different colors depending on the progress of the marks, using green powder to cover up red marks and then switching to red or orange tones as the bruises turned purple. "The idea is that you want to counteract whatever color you're working with on the bruise."

In addition, there are different web articles, including one by Glamour, that actually proves the information Milani depicted in their TikTok video is incorrect. In the video, Milani claims the specific product was launched in December 2017, after Depp and Heard's divorce. However, the Glamour article published in June 2016 already wrote about why they love using this product. In fact, a Google search for articles about this product renders results published between 2014 and 2016.

## Reactions

Immediately after their video went viral, Milani's unsolicited interference earned them huge backlash for making light of what domestic violence victims have to do to hide results of abuse they endure.

A few months later, after the unsealed documents were released, a boycott campaign against Milani was initiated by social media users, calling for people to "boycott" the brand, and asked for the company to apologize to Heard. On Twitter, the company's post about new products were ratioed with mass discussions in the comment section about the company's involvement in the trial. Users critized the company for "enabling an abuser's smear campaign".

## References

1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Ikran Dahir (April 29, 2022). All Rise, The TikTok Courtroom Of Amber Heard And Johnny Depp Is Now In Session. Buzzfeed News.
2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Jacob Shamsian (May 16, 2022). Amber Heard explains how she used a makeup kit to make sure the paparazzi wouldn't see bruises she says were caused by Johnny Depp. Insider. Archived from the original on June 9, 2022.
3. ↑ Ryan Smith (April 27, 2022). Fact Check: Did Amber Heard Lawyer Say She Used Specific Makeup on Bruises?. Newsweek.
4. ↑ Glamour (June 3, 2016). How to colour correct and the kits you need to turn pro. Glamour Magazine. Archived from the original on May 31, 2022.
5. ↑ Search results for 'milani "Perfect All in One"'. *Google*.
6. ↑ Alex Peters (April 25, 2022). Milani Cosmetics Faces Backlash After Wading Into Depp v Heard Trial. Dazed.
7. ↑ Jamie Burton (August 9, 2022). Amber Heard Supporters 'Boycott' Milani Cosmetics and Demand Apology. Newsweek. Archived from the original on August 13, 2022.