Amber Heard shares rare comment about Johnny Depp trial: ‘I have lost my ability to speak’

Heard has largely remained out of the public eye since her devastating loss in the 2022 defamation trial

Amber Heard has spoken out about the aftermath of her 2022 defamation trial loss against her ex-husband, Johnny Depp, in a rare new interview.

Heard, 39 — who was sued for $50 million by the Pirates of the Caribbean star, 62, for implying he abused her in a 2018 Washington Post op-ed — recently participated in a new documentary, titled Silenced, which premiered at the 2026 Sundance Film Festival over the weekend.

From Australian director Selina Miles, the film follows international human rights lawyer Jennifer Robinson’s fight against the weaponization of defamation laws to silence survivors of gender violence. Robinson represented Heard during the 2018 U.K. trial where Depp sued British tabloid The Sun for calling him a “wife beater.”

In the documentary, Heard sat down with Miles for an interview, during which she clarified her participation in the production.

“This is not about me. 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,” Heard said, per Variety.

Amber Heard (left) has largely removed herself from the public eye following her major loss in the 2022 defamation trial against her ex-husband Johnny Depp (right) (Getty)

Heard was subjected to intense cyberbullying during her 2022 trial (Getty Images)

Addressing the 2018 case, which ended in victory for The Sun, she explained: “The outcome of that trial depended on my participation, and I depended on the outcome of that trial. When I first met [Robinson], I immediately got the sense that she got the bigger picture. What has happened to me is an amplified version of what a lot of women live through.

“I remember at the close of the trial, the idea that I could say something to the press came up. [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 2022 trial, Heard was subjected to an intense, widespread, and sustained online bullying campaign led by Depp supporters. Some studies found it to be one of the worst instances of cyberbullying.

Still, she concluded on a positive note. “It gives me strength seeing other people take on the fight,” Heard said. “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.”

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Heard, a single mother of three, has since relocated to Spain and pursued a career in theater acting. Last year, she appeared in Jeremy O’Harris’s Spirit of the People production at the Williamstown Theatre Festival.

Silenced marks Heard’s first film since Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom in 2023.