Actress Amber Heard arrives at London's High Court, where she is giving evidence as a defense witness in the Johnny Depp libel trial against "The Sun" newspaper in July 22, 2020. She said in an interview Monday she did not blame the jury for losing a defamation lawsuit in the United States to Depp. File Photo by Hugo Philpott/UPI |
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June 13 (UPI) -- Actress Amber Heard spoke out in a rare appearance after a verdict against her in the federal civil defamation case won by her ex-husband Johnny Depp, saying she did not blame the jury for the verdict.
Earlier this month, a Virginia jury found both Heard and Depp at least partially liable of defamation, but overwhelmingly favored Depp in the awarding of damages. The jury awarded Depp a total of $15 million in damages -- $10 million in compensatory and $5 million in punitive.
"I don't blame them. I actually understand," Heard told NBC's Today in a preview clip of an interview that will air on Tuesday. "He's a beloved character and people feel they know him. He's a fantastic actor.
"I don't take it personally. But 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 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."
A statement to UPI released by Heard's public relations team defended her going public with the television interview.
"Johnny Depp's legal team blanketed the media for days after the verdict with numerous statements and interviews on television, and Depp himself did the same on social media," the statement said. "Ms. Heard simply intended to respond to what they aggressively did last week; she did so by expressing her thoughts and feelings, much of which she was not allowed to do on the witness stand."
Heard's attorney said shortly after the verdict that the actress plans to appeal the jury's verdict that she defamed Depp in an earlier Washington Post op-ed.
