In her first sit-down interview since being found guilty of defamation against her ex-husband Johnny Depp, Amber Heard discussed the jury’s decision.
“I don’t blame [the jury]. I actually understand. He’s a beloved character and people feel they know him. He’s a fantastic actor,” the Aquaman actress, who was ordered to pay $10 million in compensatory damages and $350,000 in punitive damages to Depp, told NBC’s Savannah Guthrie about the verdict.
Heard also criticized the role that social media played in the six-week trial.
“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. 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. You cannot tell me that you think that this has been fair.”
Heard testified that she received “hundreds of death threats” during the trial. “People mocking my testimony about being assaulted… I hope no one has to go through something like this. I just want Johnny to leave me alone,” she said.
Amber Heard’s interview with Guthrie (whose husband consulted for the legal team of the Pirates of the Caribbean star) will air Tuesday and Wednesday on TODAY, followed by an hour-long special on Friday on Dateline. You can watch a preview below.
— TODAY (@TODAYshow) June 13, 2022