Amber Heard is convinced that she could have won the defamation trial against Johnny Depp had the jury known about specific evidence unavailable to them. During the actress’ interview with Savannah Guthrie that aired June 18 on NBC’s Dateline, Guthrie asked if there would have been one piece of evidence that she could point to and say, “Ah! This made a difference.” Heard replied with “yes” before Guthrie asked, “What exactly is it?
Heard pointed to a collection of documents from the doctor she reported her abuse to at the time.”Her notes represented years — years — of real-time explanations of what was going on,” Heard said. According to the notes, Heard said Depp “hit her” and “threw her on the floor” in 2012, “ripped her nightgown” and “threw her on the bed” in 2013, and threw her against a wall and threatened to kill her in 2014.” Guthrie told Dateline viewers that a judge deemed the therapist notes “hearsay and inadmissible.”
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Despite Depp’s argument that no other women have accused him of abuse, Heard believes they could be too frightened to do so publicly. “Look what happened to me when I came forward,” she said. “Would you?”
Despite losing the defamation suit earlier this month, Heard, 36, told Guthrie she doesn’t hold hard feelings for Depp, 59. However, Heard told Guthrie that she stood by “every word” of her testimony and said Depp repeatedly lied, claiming not to have abused her during their “ugly” marriage. She also admitted to her bad behavior when dating the star. “I did do and say horrible and regrettable things throughout my relationship,” Heard said. “I have so much regret.”
Heard expressed frustration with how the case played out in the public eye. She described it as an example of “run amok,”, especially with the amount of support from his fans in court and on social media. “What I learned in that trial is, it’s never going to be good enough,” she said. “If you have proof, then it was a scheme — it was a hoax. If you don’t have proof, it didn’t happen. If you have a bruise, it’s fake. If you don’t have a bruise, then violence clearly didn’t hurt you. If you told people, then you’re hysterical. If you didn’t tell anyone, it didn’t happen.”
She further regretted the ill-treatment she received from some of the public. “I’m not a good victim, I get it. I’m not a likable victim. I’m not a perfect victim, I get it. I’m not a saint. I’m not asking anyone to like me.” However, she said the jury did what it had to do and doesn’t fault it for its decision, despite what she describes as “nonstop relentless testimony from paid employees.”
The Aquaman star told Guthrie that none of her actions were motivated by vindictiveness, “this would be a really lousy way to get revenge.” But she’s worried the ruling will weaken the will of other abuse victims to speak out. “I hope this doesn’t have the chilling effect that I worry it may have on other people.” Guthrie’s husband, Michael Feldman, worked as a consultant for Depp’s legal team.
Depp won a jury trial in Fairfax County, Va., last month, finding that Heard defamed him intentionally and maliciously in an op-ed she wrote in The Washington Post in 2018 about her experience as a domestic abuse survivor. Judge Penney Azcarate reduced the punitive damages to Virginia’s statutory cap of $350,000, and Depp won $10 million in compensatory damages and $5 million in punitive damages. The jury also partially ruled in favor of Heard’s defamation countersuit, awarding her compensation of $2 million and denying her punitive damages.
