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Amber Heard is opening up about the Johnny Depp lawsuit that ultimately left her voiceless.
At the Sundance Film Festival premiere of the new documentary “Silenced” — a film by director Selina Miles and international human rights lawyer Jennifer Robinson, which chronicles the experiences of women silenced through defamation suits — Heard said her primary aim was to raise awareness of the profound personal impact such legal battles can have.
“This is not about me,” Heard said during a confessional in the film, per Variety. “I have lost my ability to speak. I am not here to tell my story. I don’t want to tell my story. In fact, I don’t want to use my voice anymore. That’s the problem.”
Heard is joined by subjects including Brittany Higgins, a political staffer who brought a rape allegation against a superior in Australian parliament; Catalina Ruiz-Navarro, the editor of Latin American magazine Volcánica, who was sued by director Ciro Guerra after publishing serial allegations of misconduct against him; and Sibongile Ndashe, a human rights attorney.
JOHNNY DEPP AND AMBER HEARD CHART NEW LIVES THREE YEARS AFTER COURTROOM DRAMA
Heard, who testified against Depp during his defamation lawsuit against The Sun in 2020, said the outcome of that trial “depended” on her participation.
“The outcome of that trial depended on my participation, and I depended on the outcome of that trial,” she said in the film. “When I first met [Robinson], I immediately got the sense that she got the bigger picture. What has happened to me is an amplified version of what a lot of women live through.”
According to the outlet, the film depicts Heard as the subject of public scorn.
“I remember at the close of the trial, the idea that I could say something to the press came up. [Robinson] asked if I was sure about that. [I thought], ‘If they throw things at me, it will make this point more obvious.’ I didn’t understand it could get so much worse for me as a woman, using my voice,” she said.
JOHNNY DEPP SAYS HE ‘LEARNED’ FOLLOWING PAST DRAMA AND DOESN’T ‘HAVE ANY ILL FEELINGS TOWARD ANYONE’
“It gives me strength seeing other people take on the fight. Women brave enough to address the imbalance of power. Looking at my daughter’s face as she grows up and slowly starts to walk into this world… I believe it can be better.”
In 2022, Depp and Heard squared off in a bombshell defamation trial. They accused each other of physical and emotional abuse.
Depp sued Heard for $50 million over a 2018 op-ed she wrote for The Washington Post alleging she was the victim of domestic abuse. Heard countersued her ex-husband for $100 million, accusing him and his former attorney of conspiring to “destroy and defame” her. Depp eventually won the lawsuit.
The jury awarded Depp $10 million in damages but also awarded $2 million to Heard. Depp’s camp said the deal includes a $1 million payment from her to him to settle all financial claims.
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The couple, who wed in 2015, separated in 2016. Less than a week after filing for divorce, Heard filed a domestic restraining order against her husband on grounds of domestic abuse charges, People reported.
Just one day ahead of their scheduled restraining order hearing, they reached a $7 million settlement in their divorce, the outlet reported. Their divorce was finalized in 2017.
Depp, who said that Hollywood executives “stopped calling” amid the scandal, which he referred to as a “soap opera” that was “literally televised,” has since worked on multiple projects.
“I keep wondering about the word ‘comeback’ because I didn’t go anywhere, matter of fact I live 45 minutes away,” Depp said in May 2023 at the Cannes Film Festival while promoting his film “Day Drinker” with Penelope Cruz. “Maybe people stopped calling out of whatever their fear was at the time.”
He added, “But no, I didn’t go nowhere. I’ve been sitting around, so ‘comeback’ is sort of like, you know, it’s almost like I’m gonna come out and do a tap dance.”
Despite his return to Hollywood, Depp told The Times he prefers to stay out of the spotlight.
“Well, to this day I just rarely go out,” he said. “If friends invite me out for Mexican, I say, ‘Dude, that’s sweet of you, but I will ruin your night.’ My presence will bring attention and, Jesus, I have had almost 40 years of fame, but I’m still not used to it. And I’m glad I’m not.”
“I can be isolated and happier than a clam,” he added. “But I don’t get out much. I’m stuck with my thoughts; just thinking, writing or watching weird s— on YouTube. It can’t be healthy.”
Following her loss, Heard sold her California home and left the country for Spain in late 2022.
The 39-year-old wrapped filming on “Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom” months before the defamation trail began in April 2022, which to date is her last film.
A source told People magazine at the time that the actress was “excited about working and filming again. She was exhausted and disappointed about the trial. She felt she was mistreated.”
Fox News Digital’s Stephanie Nolasco contributed to this post.
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