Amber Heard took a shot at social media users and a jury that largely sided with her ex-husband Johnny Depp during the actress’ first interview since a verdict was rendered in the couple’s highly-publicized defamation case.
The jury found that Heard defamed Depp in an op-ed about domestic violence, published by The Washington Post in 2018, awarding him a total of $15 million in monetary damages, though it was dropped to a total of $10.35 million due to Virginia law, according to The Daily Wire.
“I don’t blame them,” Heard said of the jury finding in favor of Depp, speaking to NBC News’ Savannah Guthrie, host of “TODAY.” “I actually understand. He’s a beloved character and people feel they know him. He’s a fantastic actor.”
After suggesting the jury was not objective, but instead swayed by Depp’s charm and status, Heard emphasized that social media was “unfair” to her, too, even if you think she did perpetrate a hoax against Depp.
“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,” she said. “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,” the actress added.
The interview with Heard is set to air Tuesday, June 14, and Wednesday, June 15, on NBC’s TODAY and Friday, June 17, on Dateline NBC 8 p.m./7 p.m. CT.
WATCH:
.@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
Depp, on the contrary, said the verdict gave him his “life back” and took aim at the media for helping Heard peddle a false narrative about him.
“Six years later, the jury gave me my life back,” he said in a statement. “I am truly humbled.”
“False, very serious and criminal allegations were levied at me via the media, which triggered an endless barrage of hateful content, although no charges were ever brought against me,” the “Pirates of the Caribbean” actor continued. “It had already traveled around the world twice within a nanosecond and it had a seismic impact on my life and my career.”
Depp added that he pursued the case in the first place to “reveal the truth.”
A spokeswoman for Heard has said the “Aquaman” actress plans to appeal the verdict.