Amber Heard shares rare reflections on Johnny Depp trial in new documentary

Amber Heard has made rare comments reflecting on her highly publicised 2022 defamation trial against Johnny Depp.

The Aquaman star appears in Silenced, a new documentary examining the impact of high-value defamation lawsuits on women seeking justice. The film premiered at the Sundance Film Festival and follows several women whose professional and personal lives were derailed by legal actions.

Silenced marks Heard’s first on-screen appearance since 2023. While the documentary centres on multiple stories, Heard makes clear that she does not view herself as its focus.

"This is not about me," Heard says in the documentary, per Variety. "I have lost my ability to speak. 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 the problem."

Despite this, she says watching other women speak out has been empowering.

"It gives me strength seeing other people take on the fight. Women brave enough to address the imbalance of power," she shares in Silenced. "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 also reflects on the trial itself, acknowledging the weight of her involvement and its outcome: "The outcome of that trial depended on my participation, and I depended on the outcome of that trial."

"What has happened to me is an amplified version of what a lot of women live through."

Following the conclusion of the legal battle, the 39-year-old relocated to Spain, where she now lives and raises her family.

The case between Heard and Depp was formally settled in December 2022. At the time, Heard shared a statement on Facebook.

"After a great deal of deliberation I have made a very difficult decision to settle the defamation case brought against me by my ex-husband in Virginia," she said. "It's important for me to say that I never chose this. I defended my truth and in doing so my life as I knew it was destroyed."

"The vilification I have faced on social media is an amplified version of the ways in which women are re-victimized when they come forward."

Signing off her statement, Heard wrote: "Now I finally have an opportunity to emancipate myself from something I attempted to leave over six years ago and on terms I can agree to.

"I have made no admission. This is not an act of concession. There are no restrictions or gags with respect to my voice moving forward."

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