Amber Heard on receiving ‘hate and vitriol’ during trial against Johnny Depp: ‘You cannot tell me this has been fair’

Amber Heard, in her first post-verdict interview, said she doesn’t blame the jury. The actress also opened up about the hate and vitriol she had to go through on social media during her defamation trial against ex-husband Johnny Depp, which the actress called “unfair”.
The intense legal battle between the two Hollywood actors, which was live-streamed to millions, went on for six weeks with the US jury eventually awarding Depp over $10 million in damages and $2 million to Heard, who had counter-sued.
During the trial, social media was flooded with posts and opinions, mostly favouring Depp and criticising Heard. While Depp emerged as the winner on the Internet before the trial was even over, Heard was massively trolled and was a subject of hate and threats.
Heard’s lawyer, Elaine Bredehoft, had said that her client wants to appeal the verdict while accusing Depp’s legal team of working to “demonise” the actress.
“How could they make a judgement, how could they not come to that conclusion?” Heard told NBC in her first interview since the verdict. “I don’t blame them. I actually understand he’s a beloved character. And people feel they know him. He’s a fantastic actor.”
Depp sued Heard for $50 million over an op-ed she wrote in December 2018 where she described herself as a “public figure representing domestic abuse.” His lawyers said he was defamed by the article even though it never mentioned his name. The actress counter-sued for $100 million.
The trial disclosed lurid and intimate details about the celebrities’ private lives.
“I don’t presume the average person should know those things,” Heard said adding that though she doesn’t take it personally, the social media representation was “unfair”.
“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,” she said.
“You cannot tell me that you think that this has been fair,” the 36-year-old actress said in a clip from the interview, which airs in full on NBC News’ Dateline on Friday.