Amber Heard has ‘lost her ability to speak,’ claims decision to fight Johnny Depp got ‘so much worse’ for her as a woman

Amber Heard has kept a relatively low profile over the last few years. She last appeared on the big screen in Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom in 2023, and on TV in The Stand in 2021.

Now she’s back, making a rare public appearance in the documentary Silenced, which premiered at the 2026 Sundance Film Festival over the weekend.

Directed by Selina Miles and co-created with international human rights lawyer Jennifer Robinson, the documentary is about how powerful men have weaponized defamation lawsuits to shut down women who speak out about abuse. So, you can probably imagine why Heard is on board.

In the documentary, Heard is blunt about her current situation:

“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.”

Human rights lawyer Jennifer Robinson, who worked on Heard’s case, also spoke at the Variety Studio during the event, going into detail how these lawsuits have effectively rolled back any progress made by #MeToo:

“In the post-#MeToo world, we saw women break the cultural silence, speaking out publicly about gender-based violence. What we then saw is their alleged perpetrator bringing a defamation claim saying, ‘This is not true, it’s defamatory, and I’m going to sue you for a lot of money.’’

The documentary also sees Heard as the focus of public scorn throughout the trial, with footage of Johnny Depp fans hurling abuse and garbage at her as she arrived at court. The furious reaction appears to have blindsided her, as she miserably concludes: ” I didn’t understand it could get so much worse for me as a woman, using my voice.”

I believe it can be better

But, thankfully, there’s a thin ray of optimism underlying the future. Heard is now focused on theater work and wrapped up the panel by explaining:

“It gives me strength seeing other people take on the fight. 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.”

You’d have to hope so, right? Whatever the merits of Heard’s case, surely it can’t be right for her to be pelted with garbage each day as she arrived to make her case. I guess at this point all we can do is to hope for a brighter future.