Stay up to date with notifications from The Independent

Notifications can be managed in browser preferences.

As it happenedended

Amber Heard news: Actor says ‘binder’ of evidence not allowed in Depp trial could have changed verdict

Follow for the latest updates on the aftermath of the Amber Heard v Johnny Depp trial

Oliver O'Connell,Megan Sheets ,Rachel Sharp
Monday 20 June 2022 15:23 BST
Amber Heard says she still loves Johnny Depp

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

Amber Heard has claimed that a “binder” of evidence including therapist notes and text messages that the jury didn’t see could have changed the verdict in her defamation trial with ex-husband Johnny Depp.

Ms Heard’s full interview with NBC’s Savannah Guthrie aired on Dateline on Friday night, where the Aquaman actor said that her therapist had contemporaneously documented her allegations of abuse since 2011.

According to the notes, Ms Heard told her therapist that Mr Depp “hit her, threw her on floor” in an alleged incident in 2012.

Ms Heard’s team also shared text messages including where she appeared to tell her father that Mr Depp had kicked her on an airplane.

The notes and texts were not allowed as evidence in the case after the judge ruled them inadmissible.

Mr Depp has denied ever abusing Ms Heard.

On Thursday, Mr Depp’s team responded to Ms Heard’s interview saying: “It’s unfortunate that while Johnny is looking to move forward with his life, the defendant and her team are back to repeating, reimagining and re-litigating matters that have already been decided by the court and a verdict that was unequivocally decided by a jury in Johnny’s favor.”

Heard says she still ‘loves’ Depp and has ‘no bad feelings’ toward him

Amber Heard revealed she still “loves” ex-husband Johnny Depp even in the aftermath of their bitter defamation trial as viewers were shown old footage of the former couple’s engagement reveal in Friday night’s Dateline interview.

“Absolutely. I love him. I loved him with all my heart,” she said.

“I have no bad feelings or ill will toward him at all.”

The Independent’s Rachel Sharp has the full story:

Amber Heard says she ‘still loves’ Johnny Depp in NBC interview

‘Absolutely. I love him. I loved him with all my heart,’ she told Savannah Guthrie in an interview airing on the NBC Today show on Wednesday morning

Rachel Sharp19 June 2022 19:45

Heard tells Depp he should also sit down with Guthrie for interview

Amber Heard has invited her ex-husband Johnny Depp to also sit down for an interview with Savannah Guthrie.

A spokesperson for Ms Heard issued a statement on Friday ahead of NBC’s Dateline airing her full interview with Ms Guthrie that night.

“If Mr Depp or his team have a problem with this, we recommend that Johnny himself sit down with Savannah Gutherie for an hour and answer all her questions,” the spokesperson said.

Rachel Sharp19 June 2022 20:30

Depp’s response to Heard’s sitdown interview with Guthrie

Johnny Depp’s team responded to Amber Heard’s sitdown interview with NBC’s Savannah Guthrie in a statement on Thursday.

“It’s unfortunate that while Johnny is looking to move forward with his life, the defendant and her team are back to repeating, reimagining and re-litigating matters that have already been decided by the court and a verdict that was unequivocally decided by a jury in Johnny’s favor,” the statement reads.

Rachel Sharp19 June 2022 21:15

Depp to appear in court next month in another legal battle

Johnny Depp is facing another legal battle next month in an upcoming lawsuit brought by a former coworker who has accused him of assault.

Mr Depp is being sued by Gregg “Rocky” Brooks who alleges that the actor punched him twice on the set of the movie City of Lies in 2017.

Attorneys Camille Vasquez and Benjamin Chew, who shot to fame in his defamation trial with Amber Heard, are returning to represent him again.

Mr Depp denies assaulting Mr Brooks.

Rachel Sharp19 June 2022 22:00

Has Heard been cut from Aquaman 2?

Amber Heard has denied rumours she has been cut from Aquaman 2.

On 14 June a source told gossip site Just Jared that she had been removed from Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom and her part recast.

Ms Heard’s team denied the claim, saying: “The rumour mill continues as it has from day one – inaccurate, insensitive, and slightly insane.”

This came after calls mounted for her to be axed from the movie during the trial, with an online petition gaining more than 4m signatures.

Rachel Sharp19 June 2022 22:45

Juror breaks silence about Heard’s ‘ice cold’ testimony

A juror has broken his silence to reveal that Amber Heard’s “ice cold” testimony was perceived as “crocodile tears” by the panel in her defamation case with Johnny Depp.

The male juror, whose name and juror number was not released, told ABC’s GMA on Thursday that the jury found the Aquaman actor’s emotional testimony “didn’t add up” and they believed her to be the “aggressor” in the former couple’s doomed relationship.

“The crying, the facial expressions that she had, the staring at the jury,” he said.

“All of us were very uncomfortable… she would answer one question and she would be crying and two seconds later she would turn ice cold… some of us used the expression ‘crocodile tears’.”

He added: “A lot of Amber’s story didn’t add up... The majority of the jury felt she was more the aggressor.”

The Independent’s Rachel Sharp has the full story:

Johnny Depp trial juror says he believed Amber Heard’s was ‘crocodile tears’

‘All of us were very uncomfortable… she would answer one question and she would be crying and two seconds later she would turn ice cold… some of us used the expression “crocodile tears”,’ says the male juror

Rachel Sharp19 June 2022 23:30

Heard says she fears Depp will sue her again

Amber Heard revealed her fear that Johnny Depp could sue her for defamation again during her sitdown interview with Savannah Guthrie.

“I’m scared that no matter what I do, no matter what I say or how I say it, every step I take will present another opportunity for this sort of silencing,” she said.

“Which is what I guess a defamation lawsuit is meant to do, it’s meant to take your voice.”

Of the claims she made that sparked her legal battle with Mr Depp, she added: “I took for granted what I assumed was my right to speak.”

Ms Heard was ordered to pay Mr Depp $8.35m in damages for defamation at their trial.

The Independent’s Megan Sheets has the full story:

Amber Heard says she fears Johnny Depp will sue her again

‘I’m scared that no matter what I do, no matter what I say or how I say it, it will present another opportunity for silencing’

Rachel Sharp20 June 2022 00:30

Guthrie shouldn’t have interviewed Heard, say experts

Ethics and journalism experts have said that Savannah Guthrie should not have interviewed Amber Heard given her husband’s connection to Johnny Depp.

Rebecca Aguilar, the president of the Society of Professional Journalists, told Business Insider that Ms Guthrie interviewing Ms Heard was a “confict of interest”.

“Ms Guthrie was transparent by letting viewers know her husband worked for the Depp legal team before her interview aired on the ‘Today’ show,” she said.

“Still, she could have avoided becoming part of the story by allowing another NBC anchor to interview the Depp team and later with Ms Amber Heard.

“Ms Guthrie should be far away from this story to show her viewers that she is fair, transparent, and ethical.”

The NBC host admitted last week that her husband worked as a consultant for Mr Depp’s legal team.

Ms Guthrie is married to Michael Feldman, a public relations consultant and one-time Democratic political adviser who worked on Al Gore’s 2000 presidential campaign.

She made the disclosure about the connection last week when she interviewed Mr Depp’s attorneys Camille Vasquez and Benjamin Chew on the Today show.

“A quick disclosure, my husband has done consulting work for the Depp legal team, but not in connection with this interview,” she said.

Ms Guthrie also previously interviewed Ms Heard’s attorney Elaine Bredehoft on the Today show the morning after the verdict was announced.

Rachel Sharp20 June 2022 01:30

ICYMI: A trial by TikTok and the death knell for MeToo. Who won Depp v Heard?

Even before the verdict was handed down in the case, Johnny Depp had already won the war on social media.

“Social media has weaponised this trial,” Evan Nierman, CEO of Red Banyan Crisis PR firm and author of book Crisis Averted, told The Independent.

“More people are drawing conclusions about guilt or innocence based on online curated content than they are the facts in the courtroom.

“And that could have serious consequences for all of us moving forward.”

The Independent’s Rachel Sharp has the full story:

A trial by TikTok and the death knell for MeToo. Who won Depp v Heard?

With both Johnny Depp and Amber Heard resting their cases in the multi-million-dollar defamation trial, it now comes down to the jury to decide the verdict. But with Johnny Depp already winning the social media war, does it really matter? Rachel Sharp reports

Rachel Sharp20 June 2022 02:30

Heard grilled by Guthrie over audio played at trial

Amber Heard was grilled over audio that captured her “taunting” ex-husband Johnny Depp in her sitdown interview with Savannah Guthrie.

Ms Guthrie, whose husband worked as a consultant for Mr Depp’s legal team, probed Ms Heard about recordings played to the jury where she was heard “taunting” her then-husband about being a “victim of domestic violence”.

Ms Heard defended her comments saying she was speaking as “a person in an extreme amount of emotional, psychological and physical distress” while the TV host grilled her about Mr Depp’s allegations that she had been the “abuser” in their doomed relationship.

The Independent’s Rachel Sharp has the full story:

Amber Heard is grilled by Savannah Guthrie over audio ‘taunting’ Johnny Depp

NBC Today host grilled the Aquaman actor over audio clips played at the defamation trial

Rachel Sharp20 June 2022 03:30

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in