Amber Heard sets first post-trial interview, says she doesn't "blame" jurors for verdict

Heard's conversation with Savannah Guthrie will air on both TODAY and Dateline this week

By Hattie Lindert | June 13, 2022 | 3:10pm

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Amber Heard sets first post-trial interview, says she doesn't

Amber Heard Photo: EVELYN HOCKSTEIN/POOL/AFP

Amber Heard has completed her first public interview since a jury ruled in Johnny Depp’s favor in his defamation suit against her. Heard will sit down with NBC News’ Savannah Guthrie to discuss the verdict, the trial, and the inescapable influence social media had on the process in a conversation set to air on TODAY and on a special episode of Dateline.

“Even somebody who is sure I am deserving of all this hate and vitriol, 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,” Heard says in a preview of the interview, which aired on TODAY Monday morning. “ You cannot tell me that you think that this has been fair.”

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When Guthrie finally brings up the trial’s verdict—and that the jury rejected Heard’s testimony to rule in Depp’s favor—Heard makes it clear she doesn’t fault them for how Depp’s team was able to sway their viewpoints.

“How could [the jury] not come to that conclusion?” Heard says. “They had sat in those seats and heard over three weeks of nonstop relentless testimony from paid employees and, towards the end of the trial, randos, as I say.”

She continues: “I don’t blame them, I actually understand. [Depp]’s a beloved character, and people feel they know him. He’s a fantastic actor.”

Depp accused Heard of defamation after she referred to herself as a “public figure representing domestic abuse” in a 2018 Washington Post op-ed. The trial gained a fervent online following (the worst of it on TikTok) that saw celebrities like Lance Bass imitating Heard’s tearful testimony about the alleged abuse, and Depp fans heading down to the courthouse to wave concert-style posters outside. Though the trial, undoubtedly left huge marks on both of their reputations, Depp is already moving forward with a new album and docuseries on the way.

Additional portions of Heard’s interview will be shown on Tuesday’s and Wednesday’s episodes of TODAY, before the hour-long conversation airs on Dateline Friday night at 8 P.M E.T.