Featured Image Credit: Alamy
Topics: Amber Heard, Johnny Depp, Celebrity, US News
Lisa McLoughlin
Amber Heard has broken her silence on the negative social media coverage she faced in the wake of her trial with ex-husband Johnny Depp, claiming it was ‘unfair’.
The Aquaman actor has given her first sit-down interview following the trial and admitted she understands why the Virginia jury reached their verdict in favour of Depp, but can’t understand the 'vitriol' she faced online.
Depp sued Heard over a 2018 op-ed she wrote for The Washington Post where she detailed allegations of domestic violence, although didn't name Depp specifically in the piece.
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She told Today’s Savannah Guthrie, in an interview set to air on Tuesday (June 14) and Wednesday (June 15): "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."
Speaking of the verdict in favour of Depp, Heard said: "I don’t blame them. I actually understand. He’s a beloved character and people feel they know him. He’s a fantastic actor."
Earlier this month, Heard's attorney Elaine Bredehoft described the social media coverage as 'horrible' and claimed posts appeared to largely favour Depp, which turned the case into a spectacle.
Bredeohft appeared on The Today Show after the verdict was announced, when it was determined Depp should be awarded $15 million (£11.9m) in damages while Heard would receive $2m (£1.5m).
"It’s like the Roman Colosseum, you know?," Bredehoft said. "How they viewed this whole case.
"I was against cameras in the courtroom and I went on record with that and argued against it because of the sensitive nature of this. But it made it a zoo."
Heard's immediate reaction after the verdict, Bredehoft said, was her sorrow for women 'in and outside the courtroom'.
The lawyer claimed the verdict indicated victims of abuse would struggle to receive support, saying: "Unless you pull out your phone and you video your spouse or your significant other beating you, effectively you won’t be believed."
Following the verdict, the judge in the case reduced Depp's punitive damages to $350,000 (£277,000), meaning Heard owes Depp just over $10m (£8m).
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