‘I’ll stand by every word to my dying day’: Amber Heard on her testimony

Actress says the trial is ‘the most humiliating and horrible thing’ she has ever gone through

15 June 2022 - 09:23
subscribe Just R20 for the first month. Support independent journalism by subscribing to our digital news package.
Subscribe now
Actress Amber Heard has opened up about the recent defamation case involving ex-hubby Johnny Depp. File image.
Actress Amber Heard has opened up about the recent defamation case involving ex-hubby Johnny Depp. File image.
Image: Jim Lo Scalzo/Pool via Reuters

US actress Amber Heard says she will stand by her abuse allegations to “my dying day” as she prepares to appeal a ruling that she defamed her ex-husband Johnny Depp.

The Aquaman actress revealed this in an exclusive interview with the TODAY show’s Savannah Guthrie.

The two-part interview, airing on June 14 and 15, saw the actress speak extensively about the trial and her stance on the allegations after the verdict.

A defiant Heard, 36, told Guthrie the outcome hadn’t sunk in and was “surreal and difficult”.

Asked if she stood by her allegations, she said: “Of course. To my dying day I will stand by every word of my testimony”.

The actress revealed the trial was “the most humiliating and horrible thing” she had ever been through and she had “never felt more removed from my own humanity” as she did throughout the process.

She also weighed in on the damning public opinion expressed by some people during the trial, saying she did not blame people for finding the case “sordid” and “disgusting”.

Earlier this month, a seven-person jury in Virginia ruled Heard defamed the Pirates of the Caribbean star and awarded him $10.35m ( R165m) in damages.

The jury also determined Heard was defamed, awarding her $2m R32m).

Jurors had initially awarded Depp $15m in damages from Heard, which the judge reduced to $10.35m to comply with state limits on punitive damages.

Depp, 58, had sued Heard for $50m and argued she defamed him when she called herself “a public figure representing domestic abuse” in a newspaper opinion piece. Heard countersued for $100m, saying Depp smeared her when his lawyer called her accusations a “hoax.”

Depp denied hitting Heard or any woman and said she was the one who turned violent in their relationship.

— Additional reporting by Reuters


subscribe Just R20 for the first month. Support independent journalism by subscribing to our digital news package.
Subscribe now

Would you like to comment on this article?
Sign up (it's quick and free) or sign in now.

Speech Bubbles

Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.