By Isabella Williams-
Amber Heard has spoken out in her first interview since the verdict in her blockbuster defamation trial, revealing she doesn’t “blame” the jury for siding with her ex-husband Johnny Depp and calling out the social media coverage surrounding the case.
After a jury in Virginia last month ruled she had defamed Depp in a 2018 Washington Post op-ed published under her byline, she was been ordered to pay Depp $10 million in compensatory damages and $350,000 in punitive damages after he successfully persuaded the court his career and reputation had been damaged as a result of the article.
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Depp previously lost a similar case in the U.K. after he sued tabloid newspaper The Sun over an article which called him a “wife beater.” In that case a judge ruled there was sufficient evidence to back-up the allegation.
Heard, who plans to appeal the verdict, spoke in an interview with “Today’s” Savannah Guthrie in a primetime interview set to air Tuesday and Wednesday on NBC. In the interview, Heard tells Guthrie that she understands why the Virginia jury reached their verdict in favor of Depp. “I don’t blame them,” Heard said. “I actually understand. He’s a beloved character and people feel they know him. He’s a fantastic actor.”
A preview of Heard’s sit-down interview with Savannah Guthrie aired Monday on NBC’s “TODAY” show.
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Speaking on the jury’s verdict, Heard said, “I don’t blame them.”
“I actually understand. He’s a beloved character and people feel they know him. He’s a fantastic actor,” she said of Depp.
Heard called the social media frenzy surrounding her case “unfair” as many posts on TikTok and Twitter overwhelmingly appeared to favor Depp during the six-week trial.
The TikTok hashtag “Justice for Amber Heard” received 27 million views, while one for Depp raked in 20 billion views . ”I don’t care what one thinks about me or what judgments you want to make about what happened in the privacy of my own home, in my marriage, behind closed doors. I don’t presume the average person should know those things. And so I don’t take it personally,” she said.
“But even somebody who is sure I’m deserving of all this hate and vitriol, even if you think that I’m lying, you still couldn’t look me in the eye and tell me that you think on social media there’s been a fair representation,” she continued. “You cannot tell me that you think that this has been fair”.
Heard has been affected by the overwhelming support for Johnny Depp who has been feeling on top of the world ever since his victory.
Lawyers for Depp said he had lost $40m as a result of the defamed article in a 2018 Washington Post op-ed published under her byline. In the op-ed, she spoke about being a victim of domestic violence. The “Aquaman” actor has been ordered to pay Depp $10 million in compensatory damages and $350,000 in punitive damages after he successfully persuaded the court his career and reputation had been damaged as a result of the article.
Depp previously lost a similar case in the U.K. after he sued tabloid newspaper The Sun over an article which called him a “wifebeater.” In that case a judge ruled there was sufficient evidence to back-up the allegation.
Heard tells Guthrie that she understands why the Virginia jury reached their verdict in favor of Depp. “I don’t blame them,” Heard said. “I actually understand. He’s a beloved character and people feel they know him. He’s a fantastic actor.”
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