Amber Heard Says She Still Loves Johnny Depp Despite Trial Loss

By Daniel S. Levine

Amber Heard still loves her ex-husband Johnny Depp, two weeks after a jury said she defamed the Pirates of the Caribbean actor in her 2018 op-ed about being the victim of domestic violence. Heard has "no bad feelings" towards Depp, she said in the second part of her interview with Today Show anchor Savannah Guthrie. Although the trial ended with the jury awarding Depp over $10 million, Heard said she did the right thing by speaking out.

"Absolutely. I love him. I loved him with all my heart," Heard told Guthrie when asked about her feelings for Depp after the trial. "I have no bad feelings or ill will toward him at all." She went on to say she tried to "make a deeply broken relationship work," but couldn't.

"I have no bad feelings or ill will toward him at all," she said. "I know that might be hard to understand, or it might be really easy to understand. If you've just ever loved anyone, it should be easy."

When Heard filed for divorce from Depp in 2016, she also asked for a restraining order, alleging domestic violence. In 2018, she wrote an op-ed in the Washington Post about surviving domestic abuse but did not name Depp. Months later, Depp filed a $50 million defamation lawsuit against Heard, claiming her allegations were untrue and the op-ed harmed his career. Heard filed a $100 million counter-suit, accusing Depp of defaming her by calling her allegations a hoax.

During the six-week trial, Depp testified that he never abused Heard, and accused her of being abusive during their relationship. In the end, the Virginia jury awarded Depp $10.4 million, agreeing that Heard defamed Depp. Heard was awarded $2 million because the jury found Heard was defamed by Depp's attorney. Heard's attorney said she plans to appeal the verdict.

Guthrie asked Heard how she plans to talk about the trial with her daughter, Oonagh Paige. "I think no matter what, it will mean something," Heard said. "I did the right thing. I did everything I could to stand up for myself and the truth."

Heard, 36, hopes she can get back to her life now that the trial is over. "I get to be a mom full-time, where I'm not having to juggle calls with lawyers," she told Guthrie. However, she is still afraid she could face another defamation lawsuit from Depp because she continues to speak out.

"I'm scared that no matter what I do, no matter what I say, or how I say it, every step that I take will present another opportunity for this sort of silencing, which is what, I guess, a defamation lawsuit is meant to do," Heard said. "It's meant to take your voice." Heard's interview with Guthrie will be released as a Dateline special on Peacock Thursday before airing on NBC at 8 p.m. ET Friday.

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