ENTERTAINMENT
Amber Heard Says She Doesn’t ‘Blame’ Jury for Verdict in Johnny Depp Trial: ‘I Actually Understand’
Amber Heard also alleged that she did not receive “fair representation” on social media during her court case against ex-husband Johnny Depp
https://twitter.com/todayshow/status/1536311999369445378?s=11&t=GG7MhoWfFpQcx36V8GFkpg
TODAY
@TODAYshow
.@savannahguthrie
sat down for an exclusive conversation with #AmberHeard. “You cannot tell me that you think that this has been fair, Heard shared, in reference to social media representation.
Credit: Today Show Twitter
But, as the host reminded her guest that the jury’s “job is to not be dazzled … and look at the facts and evidence,” Heard replied, “Again, how could they, after listening to three and a half weeks of testimony about how I was a non-credible person, [and] not to believe a word that came out of my mouth.”
#AmberHeard shares with @savannahguthrie that she doesn’t blame 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." pic.twitter.com/rjWY629MkG
— TODAY (@TODAYshow) June 13, 2022
Earlier this month, the seven-person jury reached a verdict in the trial that began April 11, deciding that Depp, 59, proved Heard defamed him in her 2018 op-ed about coming forward with sexual-violence allegations. (Depp has maintained that he never assaulted Heard, and claimed she physically harmed him.)
The jury awarded Depp $15 million in damages but Heard will only have to pay $10.35 million due to a Virginia law limiting punitive damages (the judge reduced the amount). In her countersuit, Heard won one of the three defamation counts, and was awarded $2 million in damages.
The Pirates of the Caribbean star and his fans celebrated the verdict after it was read in court in Fairfax County, Virginia, with the actor saying the “jury gave me my life back” in a statement.
Heard, meanwhile, called the decision a “setback” for women. Her lawyer, Elaine Bredehoft, said recently that her client plans to appeal the verdict.
In another preview of the interview, Heard also spoke about how social media impacted the trial.
“I don’t care what one thinks about me, or what judgment you want to make about what happened in the privacy of my own home in my marriage, behind closed doors,” she explained. “I don’t presume the average person should know these things, so I don’t take it personally.”
“But,” she continued, “even somebody who is sure I am deserving of all this hate and vitriol, even if you think that I am 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.”
Added Heard: “You can not tell me that you think this has been fair.”
.@savannahguthrie sat down for an exclusive conversation with #AmberHeard. "You cannot tell me that you think that this has been fair,” Heard shared, in reference to social media representation. pic.twitter.com/56Ju7pYg1x
— TODAY (@TODAYshow) June 13, 2022
In a statement obtained by PEOPLE, a spokesperson for Heard addressed why she decided to take part in the televised interview.
“Johnny Depp’s legal team blanketed the media for days after the verdict with numerous statements and interviews on television, and Depp himself did the same on social media. Ms. Heard simply intended to respond to what they aggressively did last week; she did so by expressing her thoughts and feelings, much of which she was not allowed to do on the witness stand,” the spokesperson said.
[via]
