Amber Heard is claiming that when it comes to the 2018 Washington Post op-ed she wrote at the center of a trial of dueling defamation lawsuits involving her ex-husband, Johnny Depp, she did not want his name mentioned.
Depp is suing Heard for $50 million for defamation, for allegedly false domestic abuse accusations she made against him that he said hurt his career. Heard is counter-suing Depp, also for defamation, for $100 million.
The highly-publicized trial has been live-streamed on the Law & Crime Network YouTube channel, and other outlets, from a courtroom in Fairfax, Virginia since mid-April.
In the Washington Post article in question, penned by Heard, she describes herself as a “public figure representing domestic abuse.” Though Depp isn’t named in the article, Heard made prior allegations of abuse against Depp in 2016, which he claims is referenced in the piece.
When asked whether she had any “ill will” or intent toward Depp by publishing the piece, Heard said she had “none.” She went on to say the piece was “not about Johnny,” but what happened to her after they divorced.
“The only one who thought it was about Johnny is Johnny,” Heard said.
Heard went on to testify that she did not want to mention Depp by name in the piece. She said her motivation for writing the piece stemmed from wanting to platform a politcal conversation about “women’s issues and gendered issues.”
Heard said the first drafters of the op-ed were the American Civil Liberties Union.
A previous testimony by Terence Dougherty, the general counsel and chief operating officer of the ACLU, indicated that an email correspondence seemed to point to Heard wanting to mention the restraining order against Depp in the article, but that the nonprofit organization ultimately decided to edit that part out.
In that same testimony from the ACLU, last month, the civil rights organization said they received less than half of the $3.5 million Heard originally pledged to them. However, Heard also testified Monday that the reason she has not yet fulfilled the entirety of the pledged amount is that she had to make installments over time due to receiving the settlement money from Depp in installments, and for tax reasons. Plus, she had to stop making the installments due to the financial strain of getting sued by Depp.
Previous testimony by Heard indicated Depp had allegedly slapped and punched her on multiple occasions and twice sexually assaulted her.
While Heard maintains she was abused by Depp, Depp claims just the opposite: he was abused by her and not the other way around.
In addition to Heard wrapping up her direct testimony on the stand this week, she is expected to undergo cross-examination by Depp’s team soon thereafter. Heard also has several other witnesses lined up, including her sister Whitney Henriquez, actor Ellen Barkin, and Depp himself. This will be the second time Depp has taken the stand after he previously testified on behalf of himself and was cross-examined by Heard’s team.
