Amber Heard says Johnny Depp trial left her voiceless: 'I don't want to tell my story'
Amber Heard has opened up about the aftermath of her legal battles with ex-husband Johnny Depp.
The actress appeared in Silenced, a documentary on how defamation lawsuits are weaponized to silence women, which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival.
In it, Heard sat down with director Selina Miles in the first film she's in since Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom (2023).
"This is not about me. I have lost my ability to speak," the actress said in the documentary, as per Variety. "I am not here to tell my story. I don't want to tell my story. In fact, I don't want to use my voice anymore. That's my problem."
The film also centers on international human rights lawyer Jennifer Robinson, who worked with Heard after Depp sued The Sun over a headline that accused him of being a "wife beater."
"I remember at the close of trial, the idea that I could say something to the press came up," Heard said of The Sun trial, which Depp lost. "[Robinson] asked if I was sure about that. [I thought], 'If they throw things at me, it will make this point more obvious.' I didn't understand it could get so much worse for me as a woman, using my voice."
During the trial, Depp's fans reportedly threw trash and shouted insults at Heard.
Depp and Heard's trial came about after the actress published an op-ed in 2018 in the Washington Post about experiencing abuse titled: "I spoke up against sexual violence—and faced our culture's wrath. That has to change."
Despite the actress making no mention of his name in the article, Depp sued Heard for defamation, with his legal team arguing that it contains a "clear implication that Mr. Depp is a domestic abuser." Heard subsequently filed a countersuit and alleged that Depp was orchestrating a "smear campaign" against her.
The trial ended with the US jury finding both of them liable for defamation, but sided more strongly with Depp. The actor was awarded $15 million (P864 million) in damages while the actress was only awarded $2 million (P115 million).
Heard has since quietly relocated to Spain and starred in a theater play in 2025.
Apart from the Aquaman actress, Silenced follows the stories of Brittany Higgins, a political staffer who accused a superior in Australian parliament of rape; magazine editor Catalina Ruiz-Navarro, who was sued by a director for publishing allegations of misconduct against him; and Sibongile Ndashe, human rights attorney.
"It gives me strength seeing other people take on the fight. Women brave enough to address the imbalance of power. Looking at my daughter's face as she grows up and slowly starts to walk into this world... I believe it can be better," Heard said.
The actress welcomed her first baby, a daughter, through surrogacy in 2021. Last year, she shared that she had twins.
