Amber Heard has lashed out after ex-husband Johnny Depp shared a message to millions of fans on TikTok about moving forward after their high-profile defamation trial.
Less than a week since the seven-person jury in Virginia revealed its unanimous verdict in a TV trial that captivated audiences, the former Pirates of the Caribbean actor joined TikTok on Wednesday to thank his “loyal” fans.
“To all of my most treasured, loyal and unwavering supporters,” Depp wrote in his first post – a video montage of his recent British music tour with Jeff Beck.
“We’ve been everywhere together, we have seen everything together. We have walked the same road together. We did the right thing together, all because you cared,” the caption read.
“And now, we will all move forward together.
“You are, as always, my employers and once again I am whittled down to no way to say thank you, other than just by saying thank you. So, thank you. My love & respect, JD.”
Depp’s fans dominated the narrative during the six-week libel trial. Support for the actor on social media platforms led Heard to re-take the stand as the final witness to express the humiliation she faced online.
Depp had more than six million followers just hours after joining TikTok, and his first post had already received three million likes. His profile describes him as an “occasional thespian”.
A spokesperson for Heard responded to Depp in a statement, lamenting the jury verdict’s effect on women’s rights.
“As Johnny Depp says he’s ‘moving forward’, women’s rights are moving backward,” Heard’s spokesperson said.
“The verdict’s message to victims of domestic violence is … be afraid to stand up and speak out.”
Heard said last Thursday she planned to appeal the verdict.
She won one of the three defamation counts heard during the trial, which arose from a 2018 article Heard wrote for The Washington Post. The jury awarded Depp $US10 million ($14 million) in compensatory damages and $US5 million ($7 million) in punitive damages on the other counts.
Jurors also found that Depp defamed Heard – through his lawyer – and awarded her $US2 million ($2.8 million) compensatory damages.
“I’m even more disappointed with what this verdict means for other women. It is a setback,” Heard said last week.
“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.”
Depp and Heard married in February 2015, after meeting while making a the 2011 film The Rum Diary. Heard filed for divorce and a domestic violence restraining order in May 2016.
Depp has denied all claims that he abused her, or any other woman.
His win in the US trial followed the loss of a defamation case against British tabloid The Sun on 2020. It had called him a “wife-beater”.
Depp also lost a 2021 appeal against the British verdict.
