Amber Heard blames bias on social media for jury’s verdict against her

In her first interview since the verdict in her defamation trial with former husband Johnny Depp, the actress hits out at the ‘hate and vitriol’ she faced online during the six-week trial.

Amber Heard blamed the “unfair representation” of her on social media for swaying a jury’s verdict in her defamation trial with Johnny Depp.

Heard, 36, gave her first interview since the verdict to NBC’s Today show, with a preview released this morning. She hit out at the “hate and vitriol” she faced online during the six-week trial, which left the actress owing $US8 million ($11.5 million) in damages to her ex-husband.

The social media frenzy surrounding the case appeared overwhelmingly to favour Depp, 59, with Heard claiming that the jury had been swayed by her former husband’s “excellent acting” and “beloved” public persona.

“I don’t blame them,” Heard insisted of the jury. “I actually understand. He’s a beloved character and people feel they know him. He’s a fantastic actor.

“But 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,” she said. “You cannot tell me that you think that this has been fair.”

Heard claims ‘unfair representation’ on social media swayed the jury. Picture: Supplied

Heard’s interview on NBC's Today Show is the first since the verdict. Picture: Supplied

The jury ruled this month that Heard had defamed Depp in a 2018 article in The Washington Post, in which she said she was a survivor of domestic and sexual abuse.

Although Depp was not mentioned by name, his legal team said it was clear she had indirectly referred to allegations of violence and abuse made during their 2016 divorce.

Amber Heard made the comments during an interview with NBC News

Heard was ordered to pay Depp $US10 million ($14.4 million) in compensatory damages and $US5 million ($7.2 million) in punitive damages, although the second payment was cut to $US350,000 ($500,000) by the judge in Virginia.

Heard was awarded $US2 million ($2 million) in compensatory damages, leaving her owing $US8.35 million ($12 million) to her ex-husband. Her legal team has said that she cannot afford to pay the debt and plans to appeal against the verdict.

The trial became a social media phenomenon, with posts on Twitter and TikTok mercilessly mocking Heard’s appearance on the stand and the unravelling of her legal case. The TikTok hashtag “Justice for Amber Heard” received 92 million views, whereas one supporting Depp received 20 billion.

Heard in court in June. Picture: AFP

Heard and Depp both underwent four days of cross-examination during the trial, but the actress accused her ex-husband’s lawyers of trying to confuse the jury by putting “paid employees and randos (random people)” on the stand to defend him. The jury also saw text messages, photos, videos, medical records and even pages from the couple’s “Love Journal” that they wrote to each other.

“Again, how could they after listening to three and a half weeks of testimony about how I was an uncredible person and not to believe a word that came out of my mouth,” Heard told NBC.

“I don’t care what one thinks about me or what judgments you want to make about what happened in the privacy of my own home, in my marriage, behind closed doors. I don’t presume the average person should know those things. And so I don’t take it personally.”

Heard issued a statement immediately after the verdict, declaring it a “setback for other women”.

Heard claims the jury had been swayed by her former husband’s ‘excellent acting’. Picture: Supplied

She said: “It sets back the clock to a time when a woman who spoke up and spoke out could be publicly shamed and humiliated. It sets back the idea that violence against women is to be taken seriously.”

The interview, to be broadcast on NBC all this week, is the first time she has spoken in full since the verdict.

The Times