Amber Heard has opened up about media scrutiny in the wake of her legal battle with ex-husband Johnny Depp.
In 2022, the Aquaman actor was embroiled in a high-profile court case when Depp sued her for defamation, after she implied that Depp had abused her in a 2018 op-ed for The Washington Post. Heard, 37, countersued Depp, 60, alleging that by calling her claims fraudulent, Depp’s lawyers had defamed her.
After six weeks in court, the jury ultimately ruled in Depp’s favour, awarding him $10m (£8m) in compensatory damages and $5m (£4m) in punitive damages. This latter amount was subsequently reduced to $350,000 (£287,000) in compliance with a statutory cap. Heard, meanwhile, was awarded $2m for her countersuit.
The trial, which was televised and live-streamed online, was one of the most discussed cultural events of the year and was a frequent trending topic across social media.
Now, Heard is preparing for her first film appearance since the court battle – a role in the Conor Allyn-directed drama In the Fire.
In a new interview, the actor spoke out about the pressure she had faced, and not being in “control of stories” about her.
“I’m in control for the most part of what comes out of my mouth,” she told Deadline at the Taormina Film Festival in Sicily.
“What I’m not in control is how my pride in this project and all we put into this film can be surrounded by clips of other stuff. That’s a big thing I had to learn, that I’m not in control of stories other people create around me. That’s something that probably I’ll appreciate as a blessing further down the line.”
She continued: “Right now, I just kind of want to not have, you know, stones thrown at me so much. So let’s get the elephant out of the room then, and just let me say that. I am an actress. I’m here to support a movie. And that’s not something I can be sued for.”
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Amber Heard— (Getty Images for Vanity Fair)
Heard went on to discusses her pride in her career so far, having worked professionally “my whole adult life, since I was 16”. As a result, she said that her success in such a difficult industry should be enough to shape her reputation, rather than her personal life.
“I think I’ve earned respect for that to be its own thing,” Heard explained. “That’s substantial enough. What I have been through, what I’ve lived through, doesn’t make my career at all. And it’s certainly not gonna stop my career. So let’s talk about this movie.”
In the period project, set in 1890, Heard plays an American psychiatrist called to examine a boy in Colombia who faces the death penalty after a priest deems him evil.
Heard has said the film was ultimately about love, and addressed what she hopes the audience will take from it.
