Did Amber Heard just defame Johnny Depp ALL OVER AGAIN?!
The actress is finally speaking out at length about the defamation case filed by her ex-husband — and in the latest clip from her bombshell interview with Today’s Savannah Guthrie, she made some jaw-dropping claims!
The Aquaman star began by blaming social media (again) for allegedly influencing the jury’s decision. As Perezcious readers know, the seven-person Virginia jury sided with Depp, awarding him $10.35 million in damages and Amber only $2 million for her countersuit earlier this month. Their decision came after a six-week trial that was live-streamed for all to see.
Related: Amber Heard’s Sister Shares Message Of Support Following Verdict
On the viral nature of the case, Amber slammed social media’s impact, arguing:
“I think the vast majority of this trial was played out on social media. I think that this trial is an example of that gone haywire, gone amok. And the jury’s not immune to that.”
When asked if she thinks the jury saw the online support for Depp, Amber mused:
“How could they not? I think even the most well-intentioned juror it would have been impossible to avoid this.”
She says she saw the real-world impact social media was having outside the courtroom, adding:
“Every single day, I passed for three, four, sometimes six city blocks lined with people holding signs saying, ‘Burn the witch,’ ‘Death to Amber.’ After three-and-a-half weeks I took the stand and saw a courtroom packed full of Captain Jack Sparrow fans who are vocal, energized.”
That, of course, refers to her ex-husband’s beloved role in the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise. Seeing all of this for days on end took an emotional toll on the actress, who shared:
“This was the most humiliating and horrible thing I’ve ever been through. I have never felt more removed from my own humanity. I felt less than human.”
We have no doubt that kind of hate in the middle of an already complex and emotional trial would have been difficult to handle. Interestingly, when asked if she was feeling “confident” going in to hear the verdict, Amber got choked up before revealing:
“That’s a great question. I wish I could say yes to that. I want to say yes to you, but it wouldn’t be true. Even if you think that I’m lying, you still couldn’t look me in the eye and tell me that you think on social media there’s been a fair representation.”
Whoa! Just like her attorney, Amber went on to slam the fact that evidence from the UK trial was kept out of this case. Savannah then dug in, wondering if “maybe [Johnny] just had better lawyers [Camille Vasquez and Ben Chew],” to which the interviewee said:
“I will say his lawyers did certainly a better job of distracting the jury from the real issues.”
Later, when discussing Camille’s intense cross-examination that saw her dub Amber a “liar” who was “performing” on the stand, The Rum Diary alum clapped back at the confusing narrative (while oddly referencing Depp’s role in Edward Scissorhands):
“Says the lawyer for the man who convinced the world he had scissors for fingers? I’m the performer? I had listened to weeks of testimony insinuating, or saying quite directly, that I’m a terrible actress. So I’m a bit confused how I could be both.”
Hmm. An interesting point, we’ll give that to her!
Related: Britney Spears Gets 3-YEAR Restraining Order Against Ex Who Crashed Wedding!
Savannah then brought up the infamous audio tapes — and here’s where things got really spicy!! Reminding the 36-year-old that the “Depp team argued” that she “was the abuser” and that she “instigated physical violence,” Savannah wondered if that was accurate. Amber replied:
“I never had to instigate it, I responded to it. When you’re living in violence and it becomes normal – as I testified to – you have to adapt.”
Skeptical, the talk show host argued that there are tapes in which she acknowledges hitting Depp and starting fights, but Amber held firm:
“I know much has been made of these audio tapes. They were first leaked online after being edited. What you would hear in these clips [was] not evidence of what was happening, it was evidence of a negotiation, of how to talk about that with your abuser.”
She continued:
“As I testified on the stand about it. When your life is at risk, not only will you take the blame for things that you shouldn’t take the blame for, but when you are in an abusive dynamic – psychologically, emotionally, and physically – you don’t have the resources that say you or I do or the luxury of saying, ‘Hey, this is black and white.’ Because it is anything but when you are living in it.”
Savannah then argued:
“He says he never hit you. Is that a lie?”
To which Amber replied:
“Yes, it is.”
Oh, dang! Even after brutally losing her defamation case, she’s still claiming he lied under oath and accusing him of abuse? Does this mean Johnny could sue all over again for defamation if he wanted to?! Or would this hamper Amber’s attempt at an appeal?
Amber even cast doubt on the witnesses who spoke up for Johnny during the trial, insisting they were supporting “the person they depend on,” after previously pointing out that many of them were “paid employees” or “randos.” Towards the end of the interview, the Zombieland alum did eventually admit to doing “horrible, regrettable things” in her marriage:
“I did do and say horrible, regrettable things throughout my relationship. I behaved in horrible, almost unrecognizable to myself ways. I have so much regret. I freely and hopefully and voluntarily talked about what I did. I talked about the horrible language. I talked about being pushed to the extent where I didn’t even know the difference between right and wrong. I will always continue to feel like I was a part of this. Like I was the other half of this relationship, because I was.”
And surprisingly, despite all this legal drama and alleged violence, she still thinks her marriage to Depp was “very beautiful” while also being “ugly” and “toxic.” Huh. We wouldn’t have expected her to call that relationship beautiful all things considered…
Hear Amber’s full chat (below)!
WOW!
She is NOT backing down, but will some of her new claims come back to haunt her?? We’ll have to wait and see, especially since she has more to say on Wednesday morning’s Today and during Friday’s Dateline. Thoughts?!
[Image via Today/YouTube & MEGA/WENN]
The post Amber Heard Insists Johnny Depp LIED About Physical Violence AND Shades His Legal Team In New Interview! appeared first on Perez Hilton.