Amber Heard admits she and Depp might look like ‘Hollywood brats’
Amber Heard has given her first interview since losing her multi-million dollar defamation battle against her ex-husband Johnny Depp.
Having sat down with NBC’s Savannah Guthrie last week, segments have been previewed on the Today show with the full interview scheduled for 8pm EST on 17 June.
Heard says she will stand by her testimony in the trial “to my dying day”, but with the trial played out on social media, she believes even the best-intentioned juror would’ve found it difficult to avoid.
Describing the trial as “humiliating” and that she felt “less than human”, Heard admits she did not feel confident ahead of the verdict but maintains she “spoke truth to power” and paid the price. She acknowledged that she and Depp looked like spoiled “Hollywood brats” to the average person, but maintains her case was about free speech.
Guthrie challenged Heard over her own actions in the relationship and she admitted doing and saying “horrible, regrettable things” but said she “always told the truth”.
Depp sued Heard for $50m for implying he abused her in a Washington Post op-ed. She pursued a $100m counterclaim, accusing him of conducting a “smear campaign” against her.
Captain Jack Sparrow fans outside court made Heard feel ‘less than human’
Court proceedings were broadcast live on TV throughout the six-week legal battle, with the trial also attracting crowds of in-person admirers, many of whom stood outside the courthouse to voice their support for Depp.
Oliver O’Connell14 June 2022 15:00
What attorneys say about Amber Heard’s options to appeal
After Johnny Depp largely prevailed in his defamation lawsuit against Amber Heard, her attorney Elaine Bredehoft announced her client “absolutely” intends to appeal.
The jury of five men and two women announced on Wednesday (1 June) it had found that Ms Heard defamed Mr Depp on three statements. Jurors also found that Ms Heard was defamed by one of three statements in her countersuit.
The Independent spoke with three attorneys about Ms Heard’s possible grounds for an appeal, or even a new trial: Lisa Bloom of The Bloom Firm, whose clients have included Janice Dickinson, Mischa Barton, and several victims of Jeffrey Epstein; Jesse Weber, a host and attorney at the Law & Crime network, who covered the trial from the courthouse in Fairfax, Virginia; and Mitra Ahouraian, an entertainment attorney in Beverly Hills who represents actors, directors, producers, and musicians.
Oliver O’Connell14 June 2022 14:45
Each count the Depp-Heard jurors considered
As a public figure, Johnny Depp faced a high bar to win his libel lawsuit against his ex-wife Amber Heard. According to seven unanimous jurors, he cleared it.
Depp said his ex-wife defamed him in a 2018 newspaper op-ed in which she alluded to abuse allegations against Depp. His name was never mentioned.
The Virginia civil jury ruled in favor of Depp on all three of his counts Wednesday, finding that Heard had not only made false and defamatory statements, but that she’d done so with “actual malice” — a higher threshold for cases involving public figures. Jurors concluded Depp should receive more than $10 million.
Depp’s victory was not absolute, though. Jurors also concluded that part of Heard’s counterclaim had merits. They rejected two of Heard’s three counts, but found she was defamed by a Depp lawyer who accused her of roughing up their apartment to look worse for police. The jury awarded her $2 million.
A look at each count jurors considered:
Oliver O’Connell14 June 2022 14:30
Watch: Heard felt ‘less than human’ during trial
Amber Heard says she felt ‘less than human’ during trial
Oliver O’Connell14 June 2022 14:15
What is Savannah Guthrie’s connection to Johnny Depp?
Hollywood actress Amber Heard has given her first interview since a Virginia jury found her guilty of defaming her former husband Johnny Depp, sitting down with NBC journalist Savannah Guthrie to reflect on her side of the story.
The network plans to air excerpts from its blockbuster interview in instalments on 14 and 15 June and in a one-hour Dateline special on 17 June.
What is surprising is not that the Aquaman star is speaking out about her experiences but that her choice of broadcaster to confide in happens to have a known connection to her former husband.
Oliver O’Connell14 June 2022 14:00
Savannah Guthrie grills Heard over audio ‘taunting’ Depp played at trial
Amber Heard was grilled by Savannah Guthrie over audio that captured her “taunting” ex-husband Johnny Depp in her first interview since the jury handed down its verdict in their defamation trial.
The Aquaman actress spoke out about the case in an interview with NBC’s Today show, part of which aired on Tuesday morning.
Oliver O’Connell14 June 2022 13:53
Heard makes Edward Scissorhands dig in new interview about trial
The Aquaman star discussed the verdict – which ruled in favour of Depp – in a new interview with NBC’s Today.
In the closing arguments, Depp’s lawyer claimed that Heard had been “acting” and described her testimony as the “performance of a lifetime”.
Responding to the clip, Heard replied: “Says the lawyer for the man who convinced the world he had scissors for fingers? I’m the performer?
Oliver O’Connell14 June 2022 13:43
Heard says she and Depp ‘were awful to each other’
Ms Guthrie interviewed Johnny Depp’s lawyers last week and tells Ms Heard that they think their client won the case because she did not take “responsibility for anything she did in the marriage”, whereas he was honest about his problems with drugs and alcohol.
“I did do and say horrible, regrettable things throughout my relationship, I behaved in horrible, almost unrecognisable to myself ways, I have so much regret,” says Ms Heard.
About the relationship she says: “It was ugly, and could be very beautiful, it was very, very toxic. We were awful to each other. I made a lot of mistakes, a lot of mistakes, but I’ve always told the truth.”
Oliver O’Connell14 June 2022 13:24
Heard challenged over starting physical fights with Depp
Ms Guthrie challenges Ms Heard about her own acts of physical violence during her relationship with Mr Depp, bringing up transcripts and audio recordings from the trial.
“You’re testifying and you’re telling me today, ‘I never started a physical fight,’ and here you are on tape saying you did.”
Ms Heard refers to her testimony that when a person is in an abusive relationship they can take the blame for things they shouldn’t and that things are not necessarily as black and white as one might think.
Pushed again about a similar piece of evidence in which she taunted Mr Depp about telling the world that he was a victim of abuse, she says: “20 second clips or the transcripts of them are not representative of the two or three hours [they] are excerpted from.”
Oliver O’Connell14 June 2022 13:13
Heard says she spoke ‘truth to power’ and paid price
Ms Guthrie asks about Ms Heard’s claim that the case was about the First Amendment right to free speech.
“The First Amendment… doesn’t protect lies that amount to defamation,” says the Today anchor.
Ms Heard responds that it is “a freedom to speak truth to power”.
“But ‘truth’ is the word… And that was the issue,” says Ms Guthrie.
Ms Heard responds: “And that’s all I spoke. I spoke it to power, and I paid the price.”
Oliver O’Connell14 June 2022 13:01