Amber Heard slammed the negative social media coverage she faced during a highly-publicized defamation trial that was brought against her by ex-husband Johnny Depp.
“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,” the 36-year-old actress said during an interview with “The Today Show” that aired on Monday.
“You cannot tell me that you think this has been fair,” she again stressed.
Heard made the remark during her first on-camera interview since a seven-person jury in Virginia reached a verdict earlier this month that concluded the “Aquaman” actress defamed Depp when she wrote a 2018 opinion article for the Washington Post, awarding the “Pirates of the Caribbean” star more than $10 million in damages.
During the interview, Heard said she believes the jury was won over by Depp’s “excellent acting” and “beloved public reputation,” also accusing her ex-husband of influencing the jurors by putting “paid employees” and “randos” to testify on his behalf.
“How could they make a judgment, how could they not come to that conclusion?” Heard said, referring to the jury not believing her abuse allegations. “They had sat in those seats and heard over three weeks of nonstop, relentless testimony from paid employees and towards the end of the trial, randos, as I say.”
As the show’s host, Savannah Guthrie, reminded Heard that the jury’s “job is to not be dazzled … and look at the facts and evidence,” the actress claimed that Depp’s legal team confused the jury by labeling her a “non-credible person.”
“How could they after listening to three and a half weeks of testimony about how I was a non-credible person and not believe a word that came out of my mouth,” Heard said.
The actress further noted that she doesn’t blame the jury for their decision, explaining Depp is “a beloved character and people feel that they know him.”
Throughout the trial, social media, particularly TikTok, was overwhelmed with posts about the legal proceedings. The majority were in support of Depp under the hashtag #JusticeForJohnnyDepp. According to the video hosting site, the Depp hashtag had more than 20.7 billion views as of June 13, while the #JusticeForAmberHeard tag had a relatively low 103.3 million views.
During the marathon six-week trial, which drew numerous international headlines, details about the celebrities’ short and volatile marriage were shared.
Heard testified that Depp physically or sexually assaulted her more than a dozen times, while Depp maintained that he never struck his ex-wife, accusing her of concocting the abuse allegations and that she was the one who physically attacked him multiple times.
Depp won all three defamation claims in the case after the jury reviewed dozens of photos and videos, among other evidence, while also listening to dozens of witnesses.
In a recent interview, Ben Chew, one of Depp’s attorneys, suggested that his client’s defamation lawsuit was about restoring his reputation after Heard made public accusations against him during their divorce in 2016 and alleged that he was abusive during their short marriage.
“Johnny owned his issues. He was very candid about his alcohol and drug issues. He was candid about some unfortunate texts that he wrote,” the attorney told NBC News. “And I think it was a sharp contrast to Ms. Heard who … didn’t take accountability for anything.”
Heard has claimed after the verdict that the trial “sets back the clock to a time when a woman who spoke up and spoke out could be publicly shamed and humiliated” and allegedly “sets back the idea that violence against women is to be taken seriously.”
“I believe Johnny’s attorneys succeeded in getting the jury to overlook the key issue of Freedom of Speech and ignore evidence that was so conclusive that we won in the U.K.,” Heard also remarked.
Meanwhile, Heard’s lawyer, Elaine Bredehoft, revealed earlier this month that her client wants to appeal the case, saying she “has some excellent grounds for it.”
The lawyer insisted that Heard was “demonized” by Depp’s team during the case, claiming “an enormous amount of evidence” that was used in her UK case “was suppressed” in the Virginia trial.
