Amber Heard news - live: Actor says ‘binder’ of evidence not allowed in Depp trial could have changed verdict

Oliver O'Connell,Megan Sheets and Rachel Sharp

June 19, 2022 at 11:04 PM·23 min read

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Amber Heard has claimed that a “binder” of evidence including therapist notes and text messages that the jury didn’t see could have changed the verdict in her defamation trial with ex-husband Johnny Depp.

Ms Heard’s full interview with NBC’s Savannah Guthrie aired on Dateline on Friday night, where the Aquaman actor said that her therapist had contemporaneously documented her allegations of abuse since 2011.

According to the notes, Ms Heard told her therapist that Mr Depp “hit her, threw her on floor” in an alleged incident in 2012.

Ms Heard’s team also shared text messages including where she appeared to tell her father that Mr Depp had kicked her on an airplane.

The notes and texts were not allowed as evidence in the case after the judge ruled them inadmissible.

Mr Depp has denied ever abusing Ms Heard.

On Thursday, Mr Depp’s team responded to Ms Heard’s interview saying: “It’s unfortunate that while Johnny is looking to move forward with his life, the defendant and her team are back to repeating, reimagining and re-litigating matters that have already been decided by the court and a verdict that was unequivocally decided by a jury in Johnny’s favor.”

Key Points

Heard says ‘binder’ of therapist’s notes could have led to different verdict
Heard’s text message to therapist: ‘Johnny did a number on me tonight’
Revelation Amber Heard didn’t donate $7m divorce settlement was a ‘fiasco’ says juror
Heard says she still loves Johnny Depp
Trial juror says Amber Heard’s ‘ice cold’ testimony was perceived as ‘crocodile tears’
Why Heard is speaking out now

Heard grilled by Guthrie over audio played at trial

03:30 , Rachel Sharp

Amber Heard was grilled over audio that captured her “taunting” ex-husband Johnny Depp in her sitdown interview with Savannah Guthrie.

Ms Guthrie, whose husband worked as a consultant for Mr Depp’s legal team, probed Ms Heard about recordings played to the jury where she was heard “taunting” her then-husband about being a “victim of domestic violence”.

Ms Heard defended her comments saying she was speaking as “a person in an extreme amount of emotional, psychological and physical distress” while the TV host grilled her about Mr Depp’s allegations that she had been the “abuser” in their doomed relationship.

The Independent’s Rachel Sharp has the full story:

Amber Heard is grilled by Savannah Guthrie over audio ‘taunting’ Johnny Depp

ICYMI: A trial by TikTok and the death knell for MeToo. Who won Depp v Heard?

02:30 , Rachel Sharp

Even before the verdict was handed down in the case, Johnny Depp had already won the war on social media.

“Social media has weaponised this trial,” Evan Nierman, CEO of Red Banyan Crisis PR firm and author of book Crisis Averted, told The Independent.

“More people are drawing conclusions about guilt or innocence based on online curated content than they are the facts in the courtroom.

“And that could have serious consequences for all of us moving forward.”

The Independent’s Rachel Sharp has the full story:

A trial by TikTok and the death knell for MeToo. Who won Depp v Heard?

Guthrie shouldn’t have interviewed Heard, say experts

01:30 , Rachel Sharp

Ethics and journalism experts have said that Savannah Guthrie should not have interviewed Amber Heard given her husband’s connection to Johnny Depp.

Rebecca Aguilar, the president of the Society of Professional Journalists, told Business Insider that Ms Guthrie interviewing Ms Heard was a “confict of interest”.

“Ms Guthrie was transparent by letting viewers know her husband worked for the Depp legal team before her interview aired on the ‘Today’ show,” she said.

“Still, she could have avoided becoming part of the story by allowing another NBC anchor to interview the Depp team and later with Ms Amber Heard.

“Ms Guthrie should be far away from this story to show her viewers that she is fair, transparent, and ethical.”

The NBC host admitted last week that her husband worked as a consultant for Mr Depp’s legal team.

Ms Guthrie is married to Michael Feldman, a public relations consultant and one-time Democratic political adviser who worked on Al Gore’s 2000 presidential campaign.

She made the disclosure about the connection last week when she interviewed Mr Depp’s attorneys Camille Vasquez and Benjamin Chew on the Today show.

“A quick disclosure, my husband has done consulting work for the Depp legal team, but not in connection with this interview,” she said.

Ms Guthrie also previously interviewed Ms Heard’s attorney Elaine Bredehoft on the Today show the morning after the verdict was announced.

Heard says she fears Depp will sue her again

Monday 20 June 2022 00:30 , Rachel Sharp

Amber Heard revealed her fear that Johnny Depp could sue her for defamation again during her sitdown interview with Savannah Guthrie.

“I’m scared that no matter what I do, no matter what I say or how I say it, every step I take will present another opportunity for this sort of silencing,” she said.

“Which is what I guess a defamation lawsuit is meant to do, it’s meant to take your voice.”

Of the claims she made that sparked her legal battle with Mr Depp, she added: “I took for granted what I assumed was my right to speak.”

Ms Heard was ordered to pay Mr Depp $8.35m in damages for defamation at their trial.

The Independent’s Megan Sheets has the full story:

Amber Heard says she fears Johnny Depp will sue her again

Juror breaks silence about Heard’s ‘ice cold’ testimony

Sunday 19 June 2022 23:30 , Rachel Sharp

A juror has broken his silence to reveal that Amber Heard’s “ice cold” testimony was perceived as “crocodile tears” by the panel in her defamation case with Johnny Depp.

The male juror, whose name and juror number was not released, told ABC’s GMA on Thursday that the jury found the Aquaman actor’s emotional testimony “didn’t add up” and they believed her to be the “aggressor” in the former couple’s doomed relationship.

“The crying, the facial expressions that she had, the staring at the jury,” he said.

“All of us were very uncomfortable… she would answer one question and she would be crying and two seconds later she would turn ice cold… some of us used the expression ‘crocodile tears’.”

He added: “A lot of Amber’s story didn’t add up... The majority of the jury felt she was more the aggressor.”

The Independent’s Rachel Sharp has the full story:

Johnny Depp trial juror says he believed Amber Heard’s was ‘crocodile tears’

Has Heard been cut from Aquaman 2?

Sunday 19 June 2022 22:45 , Rachel Sharp

Amber Heard has denied rumours she has been cut from Aquaman 2.

On 14 June a source told gossip site Just Jared that she had been removed from Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom and her part recast.

Ms Heard’s team denied the claim, saying: “The rumour mill continues as it has from day one – inaccurate, insensitive, and slightly insane.”

This came after calls mounted for her to be axed from the movie during the trial, with an online petition gaining more than 4m signatures.

Depp to appear in court next month in another legal battle

Sunday 19 June 2022 22:00 , Rachel Sharp

Johnny Depp is facing another legal battle next month in an upcoming lawsuit brought by a former coworker who has accused him of assault.

Mr Depp is being sued by Gregg “Rocky” Brooks who alleges that the actor punched him twice on the set of the movie City of Lies in 2017.

Attorneys Camille Vasquez and Benjamin Chew, who shot to fame in his defamation trial with Amber Heard, are returning to represent him again.

Mr Depp denies assaulting Mr Brooks.

Depp’s response to Heard’s sitdown interview with Guthrie

Sunday 19 June 2022 21:15 , Rachel Sharp

Johnny Depp’s team responded to Amber Heard’s sitdown interview with NBC’s Savannah Guthrie in a statement on Thursday.

“It’s unfortunate that while Johnny is looking to move forward with his life, the defendant and her team are back to repeating, reimagining and re-litigating matters that have already been decided by the court and a verdict that was unequivocally decided by a jury in Johnny’s favor,” the statement reads.

Heard tells Depp he should also sit down with Guthrie for interview

Sunday 19 June 2022 20:30 , Rachel Sharp

Amber Heard has invited her ex-husband Johnny Depp to also sit down for an interview with Savannah Guthrie.

A spokesperson for Ms Heard issued a statement on Friday ahead of NBC’s Dateline airing her full interview with Ms Guthrie that night.

“If Mr Depp or his team have a problem with this, we recommend that Johnny himself sit down with Savannah Gutherie for an hour and answer all her questions,” the spokesperson said.

Heard says she still ‘loves’ Depp and has ‘no bad feelings’ toward him

Sunday 19 June 2022 19:45 , Rachel Sharp

Amber Heard revealed she still “loves” ex-husband Johnny Depp even in the aftermath of their bitter defamation trial as viewers were shown old footage of the former couple’s engagement reveal in Friday night’s Dateline interview.

“Absolutely. I love him. I loved him with all my heart,” she said.

“I have no bad feelings or ill will toward him at all.”

The Independent’s Rachel Sharp has the full story:

Amber Heard says she ‘still loves’ Johnny Depp in NBC interview

Heard’s text message to therapist: ‘Johnny did a number on me tonight’

Sunday 19 June 2022 19:00 , Rachel Sharp

In a text message Amber Heard claims to have sent to her therapist on 16 December 2015, she wrote:

“Johnny did a number on me tonight. I’m safe and with my support tonight but I need some real help. Can I come tomorrow.

“I called earlier because I thought I had a concussion and didn’t know if I should have called police. But I have a nurse close to me.”

The text message was part of what Ms Heard said was a trove of evidence that she claims helped prove her allegations of abuse by her ex-husband Johnny Depp but was not presented to the jury at trial.

Mr Depp denies ever abusing Ms Heard.

Jurors were not shown the text messages after the judge ruled them to be inadmissible.

They were shared with NBC’s Dateline by Ms Heard’s team for her sitdown interview with Savannah Guthrie.

Heard claims texts to father are evidence of abuse

Sunday 19 June 2022 18:15 , Rachel Sharp

Amber Heard claimed that text messages she sent to friends and family during her relationship with Johnny Depp are evidence of the physical abuse she suffered during their marriage.

In her interview with NBC’s Savannah Guthrie, Ms Heard’s legal team shared multiple messages she had sent to her therapist and her father.

The text messages were not presented as evidence to the jury in the defamation trial after the judge deemed them inadmissible in court.

The Independent’s Amanda Whiting has the full story:

Amber Heard claims text messages are evidence of physical abuse from Johnny Depp

Heard says speaking out about alleged sexual violence is ‘scariest thing’

Sunday 19 June 2022 17:30 , Rachel Sharp

Amber Heard described speaking out about the alleged sexual violence that she suffered as the “scariest, most intimidating thing” in her first interview since a jury sided with Johnny Depp in their defamation case.

The Aquaman actor told Savannah Guthrie in her interview on NBC’s Dateline on Friday night that she was “terrified” about being cross-examined by her ex-husband’s legal team and “not being believed” about her allegations.

“The scariest, most intimidating thing for anybody talking about sexual violence is not being believed, being called a liar, or being humiliated,” she said.

Ms Heard told Ms Guthrie, whose husband has worked as a consultant for Mr Depp’s legal team, that she was not being “vindictive” by sitting down for an interview in the aftermath of the case.

The Independent’s Rachel Sharp has the full story:

Amber Heard says speaking out about alleged sexual violence is the ‘scariest thing’

Heard suggests Depp’s exes are afraid to accuse him of abuse

Sunday 19 June 2022 16:45 , Rachel Sharp

Amber Heard has suggested that Johnny Depp’s other former partners may be too afraid of a backlash to come forward with accusations of abuse against the Pirates of the Caribbean star.

In her interview on NBC’s Dateline on Friday night, the Aquaman actor responded to a question from Savannah Guthrie about why she is the only one of Mr Depp’s exes to publicly accuse him of violence.

“Look what happened to me when I came forward,” she said. “Would you?”

Throughout the couple’s explosive defamation trial in Fairfax, Virginia, Ms Heard testified about multiple alleged incidents of abuse.

Mr Depp denied ever abusing Ms Heard and instead claimed that she was the abuser in their relationship.

In a dramatic moment of the trial, supermodel Kate Moss testified that her ex-boyfriend Mr Depp was never violent to her when they dated in the 1990s.

The Independent’s Rachel Sharp has the full story:

Amber Heard suggests Johnny Depp’s exes are afraid to accuse him of violence

Heard says therapist has ‘binder’ of notes about abuse

Sunday 19 June 2022 16:00 , Rachel Sharp

Amber Heard says her doctor kept contemporaneous notes of the physical abuse she suffered while married to Johnny Depp.

In her interview with Savannah Guthrie, Ms Heard explained that she had been reporting physical abuse within her relationship since 2011. The couple married in 2015.

“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,” she said.

Ms Guthrie and her reporting team at NBC looked at the notes to confirm what Heard had been telling her therapist since 2012.

According to Guthrie, in January 2012, Heard told her therapist that Depp “hit her, threw her on the floor”.

The Independent’s Amanda Whiting has the full story:

Amber Heard claims she has ‘binder’ of notes about physical abuse from Johnny Depp

Heard opens up about how she will talk to her daughter about Depp case

Sunday 19 June 2022 15:15 , Rachel Sharp

Amber Heard opened up about how she will talk to her daughter about her defamation case with Johnny Depp when the little girl is old enough, in her interview with Savannah Guthrie.

Ms Heard said she was looking forward to being “a mom” without having to juggle her legal battles.

“I get to be a mom. Like full time, where I don’t have to juggle calls with lawyers,” she said.

Ms Guthrie asked her if she would tell her daughter “everything” in future.

“One day you may want to tell your daughter about this,” she said.

“Or have to tell your daughter about everything you’ve gone through. What would you want to say?”

Ms Heard replied: “I think no matter what, it will mean something. I did the right thing.

“I did everything I could to stand up for myself and the truth.”

Guthrie shouldn’t have interviewed Heard, say experts

Sunday 19 June 2022 14:30 , Rachel Sharp