CUNY received backlash after praising graduate on Johnny Depp’s legal team

• The City University of New York wrote an alumni profile on Johnny Depp’s legal team.
• CUNY removed the post after criticism from students and faculty.
• “This is a gross mistake and an embarrassing moment for CUNY,” one professor tweeted Friday.

The New York State University system published an article on its website praising a graduate of the school for being on Johnny Depp’s legal team but after receiving Impact by students and faculty, the university removed the article.

The Depp and Amber Heard The defamation lawsuit was at the forefront of the pop culture consciousness for weeks earlier this summer — sparking headlines and conversations about domestic violence.

Vice President and Professor at the City University of New York, Amy Hsin, criticized the article on Twittercalling the trial “nothing less” than a multimillion-dollar campaign to humiliate a victim of domestic abuse.

“If one @CUNY graduate worked on the legal defense team of Harvey Weinstein, a convicted serial rapist, or Ghislaine Maxwell, a convicted sex trafficker. @CUNY celebrate with an email calling the case “hot”? This is a gross mistake and an embarrassing moment for CUNY,” he tweeted Friday.

The graduate who was the subject of the original article, Yarelyn Mena, talked about working on the team and living “in a bubble” throughout the trial, according to The Daily Mail.

“We understand the strong negative feelings this article caused and apologize for publishing the item,” the school wrote in an Aug. 3 statement. statement. “The article was not intended to endorse Mr. Depp, implied or otherwise, or to dispute any claims made by Amber Heard.”

It is unclear how long the article was published before it was taken down.

CUNY declined to comment further.

Hsin and Mena did not immediately respond to Insider’s request for comment.