NEW YORK (AP) — Amber Heard says she doesn’t blame the jury that awarded Johnny Depp more than $10 million after a contentious six-week libel trial in her first post-verdict interview.
She told Savannah Guthrie of NBC's “Today” in a clip aired Monday that she understood how the jury reached its conclusion and said Depp is a “beloved character and people feel they know him.”
She called her ex-husband a “fantastic actor” and decried social media, calling her treatment online unfair. “Today” plans to air more of its interview with Heard on Tuesday and Wednesday.
Depp sued Heard for libel in Virginia over a December 2018 Washington Post piece in which she described herself as “a public figure representing domestic abuse.”
A jury sided with Depp in his libel lawsuit against Heard, awarding the “Pirates of the Caribbean” actor more than $10 million and vindicating his allegations that Heard lied about him abusing her before and during their 15-month marriage.
But in a split decision, the jury also found that Heard was defamed by one of Depp’s lawyers, who accused her of creating a detailed hoax that included roughing up their apartment to look worse for police. The jury awarded her $2 million in damages.