Amber Heard has said she does not blame the jury in her high-profile defamation battle against ex-husband Johnny Depp.
The actress, 36, also detailed the “hate and vitriol” she has faced online in a clip from her upcoming interview with NBC Today journalist Savannah Guthrie.
The full interview – her first since the Virginia trial concluded two weeks ago – will air this week on Today and on Friday on the Dateline programme.
In the preview, Heard said of the jury: “I don’t blame them. I actually understand. He’s a beloved character and people feel they know him. He’s a fantastic actor.”
Responding, Guthrie said: “Their job is to not be dazzled by that. Their job is to look at the facts and evidence and they did not believe your testimony or your evidence.”
Heard added: “Again, how could they after listening to three and a half weeks of testimony about how I was a non-credible person, how not to believe a word that came out of my mouth?”
Speaking about the messages she has received online, she said: “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.”
A jury found a 2018 article Heard wrote for the Washington Post about her experiences as a survivor of domestic abuse to be defamatory and awarded $10.35million (£8.2 million) in damages to Depp.
Heard won on one count of her counter-suit, successfully arguing that Depp’s press agent defamed her by claiming her allegations were “an abuse hoax” aimed at capitalising on the #MeToo movement.
The jury awarded her $2 million (£1.5 million) in damages.
Since deliberations began, Depp has been appearing on stage with veteran rock guitarist Jeff Beck, 77, during his UK tour and the pair also recently announced a collaborative album.
Deadline reported the interview was filmed on Thursday June 9 in New York under tight security and secrecy.
Mr Depp previously lost a similar trial in the UK which he brought against the publisher of The Sun newspaper after an article, also written in 2018, which referred to him as a “wife-beater”.
Heard’s interview will air first on Tuesday and Wednesday’s editions on NBC News’ Today programme, with more of the sit-down airing on Friday during a special Dateline show.
The interview will be available on Today.com following the broadcast.
Read More
Photo Credit:
