Austin's Amber Heard sits down for first interview since defamation trial against Johnny Depp
Heard sat down with TODAY's Savannah Guthrie for an exclusive primetime interview set to air this week on TODAY and Dateline on KXAN.
AUSTIN (KXAN) — Austin native Amber Heard is sitting down for her first interview since a jury ruled in favor of her ex-husband Johnny Depp.
Last month a Virginia jury ruled that Heard defamed Depp in a 2018 Washington Post op-ed. She was ordered to pay him about $10 million in damages. The jury also sided with Heard in her countersuit, finding that the actor was defamed by one of Depp's lawyers. Depp was ordered to pay her nearly $2 million in damages.
Heard sat down with TODAY's Savannah Guthrie for an exclusive primetime interview set to air this week on TODAY and Dateline on KXAN. In a preview, Heard criticized the role that social media played in the six-week trial.
"Even 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 tell me — look me in the eye and tell me — that you think on social media there’s been a fair representation," Heard said. "You cannot tell me that you think that this has been fair."
On social media, particularly TikTok, people overwhelmingly supported Depp throughout the defamation trial. The TikTok hashtag “Justice for Amber Heard” received 27 million views, while one for Depp raked in 20 billion views, according to NBC.
Despite the verdict and response online, Heard told Savannah that she's not offended by the public's opinion of her.
“I don’t care what one thinks about me or what judgements you want to make about what happened in the privacy of my own home, in my marriage, behind closed doors,” Heard said. “I don’t presume the average person should know these things. And so I don’t take it personally.”
Heard also said that she doesn't blame the jury for ruling against her.
Heard's interview with Savannah will air Tuesday and Wednesday on TODAY and an hour-long special will air Friday on Dateline.