Amber Heard said she does not blame jury for verdict in Johnny Depp libel trial in first interview
Amber Heard said she understood the jury's verdict, saying Depp was a "beloved character", ITV News US Correspondent Emma Murphy reports
Amber Heard said she was the target of online “hate and vitriol” during her high-profile libel case against ex-husband Johnny Depp and said she did not blame the jury for their verdict.
In a clip from an upcoming interview with NBC Today journalist Savannah Guthrie, the actress, 36, criticised the role social media played in the case, saying there had not been a "fair representation" of her. She appeared to suggest this influenced the jury's decision.
In a preview of the interview, set to air this week on Today and on Friday on the Dateline programme, Ms Heard said of 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.”
Responding, Ms Guthrie said: “Their job is to not be dazzled by that. Their job is to look at the facts and evidence and they did not believe your testimony or your evidence.”
Ms Heard added: “Again, how could they after listening to three and a half weeks of testimony about how I was a non-credible person, how not to believe a word that came out of my mouth?”
Speaking about the messages she has received online, 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 tell me — 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.”
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A jury found a 2018 article Ms Heard wrote for the Washington Post about her experiences as a survivor of domestic abuse to be defamatory and awarded $10.35million (£8.2 million) in damages to Mr Depp.
Ms Heard won on one count of her counter-suit, successfully arguing that Depp’s press agent defamed her by claiming her allegations were “an abuse hoax” aimed at capitalising on the #MeToo movement.
The jury awarded her $2 million (£1.5 million) in damages.
Deadline reported the interview was filmed on Thursday June 9 in New York under tight security and secrecy.
Mr Depp previously lost a similar trial in the UK which he brought against the publisher of The Sun newspaper after an article, also written in 2018, referred to him as a “wife-beater”.
Ms Heard’s interview will air first on Tuesday and Wednesday’s editions on NBC News’ Today programme, with more of the sit-down airing on Friday during a special Dateline show.
The interview will be available on Today.com following the broadcast.