Amber Heard is still defending herself over two weeks after a jury determined that she had misrepresented her ex-husband, Johnny Depp.
The “Aquaman” star stated in an exclusive interview with Savannah Guthrie, which aired in two parts Tuesday and Wednesday this week and in a special Friday on Dateline, that she will not pull back from her testimony in court and that Depp physically and mentally tortured her.
Heard stated in an interview on the estranged couple’s high-profile defamation lawsuit that she will stick by every word of her testimony till her last breath.
During the six-week case, the couple’s attorneys sifted through and scrutinised the couple’s worst times. Depp, for his turn, attempted to distance himself from Heard’s charges in a 2018 Washington Post op-ed in which she portrayed herself as a “public person symbolising domestic abuse.” Though Heard never mentioned Depp, the actor’s lawyers claimed that the opinion article alluded to accusations she made during their 2016 divorce. Depp has rejected all claims of abuse.
Depp sued Heard for $50 million, saying that the allegations in the op-ed had a negative influence on his profession. Heard countersued for $100 million, saying that Depp’s previous attorney slandered her by calling her assault accusations “a fake.”
The panel of seven found “clear and compelling proof” that Heard defamed Depp and decided in his favour. He received a total of $15 million in compensatory and punitive damages. The punitive damages were decreased by a court, bringing the total to $10.4 million. When the jury determined Depp’s attorney slandered her on one count, Heard was awarded $2 million.
Savannah mentioned the number of voice tapes submitted to the panel to back up both Heard and Depp’s testimony. Those tapes became a hot topic both online and in court, as Depp’s legal team questioned Heard’s trustworthiness.
“I’m reading a transcript where he says, ‘You create physical fights,'” ‘I did initiate a physical fight,’ you say. “I can’t promise I won’t become physical again,” she says. Savannah said, “This is in black and white.” I’m aware of the context. But you’re appearing, and you say today, ‘I never began a physical fight,’ and here you are on video stating you did.”
Heard responded by repeating her evidence from the case, in which she said she only became violent with her ex-husband Depp when attempting to protect herself.
“As I claimed on the court, when your life is in danger, you not only accept the responsibility for things you shouldn’t accept responsibility for. But when you’re in an abusive relationship, you don’t have the capabilities that, say, you or I possess, with the privilege of saying, ‘Hey, this is black and white,'” she responded. “Because when you’re living in it, it’s anything but.”
Savannah mentioned other recordings that arose during the case in reaction to Heard’s claim that she only acted aggressive in regard to assault.
Savannah said of the tape that Heard is teasing him and saying, ‘Oh, Johnny Depp, tell the world, I, a male, am a victim of domestic abuse.’
Heard to which she replied that twenty-second excerpts or interpretations of them are not typical of even the two or three hours from which those clips are extracted.
Savannah directed the discussion to the closing statements, when Depp’s attorney dubbed Heard’s evidence the “standout performance” and blamed her of playing for the jury.
Heard made the statement in reference to Depp’s 1990 picture “Edward Scissorhands” that the lawyer representing the man who fooled the world into thinking he had scissors for fingers?” Heard had listened to weeks of evidence implying or outright stating that she is a lousy performer. So she is not sure how she can be both.
Heard and Savannah also discussed the First Amendment, which the actress mourned on Instagram as a freedom she’d lost as a result of the case.
“Here’s the problem with the First Amendment: It stands for free speech.” “It doesn’t shield lies that amount to defamation, and that was the problem in this case,” Savannah stated, adding that facts were central to the case and what the jury was charged with establishing.
Heard responded that’s all she said and she said it to power and she paid the cost.
Watch for more: https://youtu.be/Yqz0I4QoGcY
