Snapchat has confirmed that one of its newest filters, a crying face, was not inspired by Amber Heard's emotional testimony at the ongoing defamation trial between her and Johnny Depp.
The $50 million trial, which is currently on a brief hiatus, has seen the 36-year-old Aquaman star take the stand over the course of two days to testify against her former husband.
Heard alleges that Depp physically and sexually assaulted her during their relationship which ended in 2016 after just 15 months of marriage.
At several points during her testimony earlier this month, the actress was seen overcome by emotion as she sobbed while recounting alleged details of the relationship before the jury.
Her highly anticipated testimony took place less than two weeks before the launch of a new Snapchat filter which allows users to appear as though they are crying their eyes out.
Check out the Snapchat filter, which has also started making the rounds on TikTok:Because of this, there has been speculation amongst users on the app that the brand new filter was inspired by Heard's two days of testimony.
For example, one person wrote on Twitter: "You can’t tell me that new crying filter is not based off of Amber Heard."
Another wrote: "Has anyone else realized that the crying filter on Snapchat looks suspiciously like Amber Heard’s face from when she’s crying on the stand?"
A third claimed: "There's a filter of Amber Heard's crying face."
A spokesperson for the app has since refuted this widely-held belief about the crying filter.
They told TMZ that the app had been in the works for around half a year - and as such, was in development long before Heard took the stand at the defamation trial. The photo-sharing giant also emphasized to the outlet that it would never make light of a domestic violence court case.
Snapchat's argument that its latest filter is nothing to do with Heard is perhaps supported by the fact that the app also released a filter that has the exact opposite effect on users' faces - it allows them to grin from ear to ear. So, a sad face was a natural follow-on filter.
Heard is expected to continue her testimony tomorrow (May 16).