What did Heard tell Savannah Guthrie about Depp trial? Summary, highlights of TV interview
In her first interview since losing her court battle with ex-husband Johnny Depp, Amber Heard sat down for an hour-long interview with NBC’s Savannah Guthrie.
NBC on Friday aired the full Dateline interview given by Amber Heard to journalist Savannah Guthrie, portions of which had been released throughout the week. The interview was Heard’s first since losing her defamation suit and counter-suit to ex-husband Johnny Depp earlier this month.
She has been ordered to pay Depp $10.35m in damages after a jury deemed she defamed the 59-year-old in a Washington Post op-ed in which she didn’t mention Depp by name, but described herself as a “public figure representing domestic abuse.” Heard’s lawyer, Elaine Bredehoft, has said she intends to appeal.
“The scariest, most intimidating thing for anybody”
Speaking to Guthrie on Friday, Heard discussed being cross-examined by Depp’s legal team over her claims that her former spouse sexually abused her. “The scariest, most intimidating thing for anybody talking about sexual violence is not being believed, being called a liar or being humiliated,” the 36-year-old said.
“There is so much I regret”
Asked by Guthrie about her own “bad behaviour” caught in audio recordings played in court, Heard said: “You hear my voice in those audiotapes - it’s not the voice of me now, it’s not who I am now. I did do and say horrible, regrettable things throughout my relationship. I behaved in horrible, almost unrecognisable ways to myself. There is so much I regret.”
On donation claim
Pressed about her claim that she had donated her $7m divorce settlement to charity - it emerged in court that she has not yet handed over the money - Heard argued: “I think when you say to someone ‘I bought a house,’ are you lying? Because you have not paid for it in full at that point. I made a pledge and that pledge is made over time in its nature.”
Heard says binder of doctor’s notes not allowed into evidence
Heard also echoed Bredehoft’s assertion in an earlier NBC interview that her legal team was unable to bring into evidence medical records showing a “pattern […] of Amber reporting [abuse] to her therapist”. Heard told Guthrie: “There’s a binder worth of years of notes dating back to 2011 from the very beginning of my relationship that were taken by my doctor, who I was reporting the abuse to.”
Heard “terrified” of another Depp lawsuit
Heard told Guthrie she is “terrified” Depp could take her to court again for talking publicly about their trial. “I took for granted what I assumed was my right to speak,” she said. “I’m scared that, no matter what I do or what I say or how I say it, every step that I take will present another opportunity for this sort of silencing, which is what, I guess, a defamation lawsuit is meant to do - to take your voice.”
Heard: I still love Depp
However, Heard acknowledged that she still loves Depp. “I love him,” she said. “I loved him with all my heart, and I tried the best I could to make a deeply broken relationship work. And… I couldn’t.” She added: “I have no bad feelings or ill-will towards him at all. I know that might be hard to understand - or it might be really easy to understand, if you’ve ever loved anyone. It should be easy.”