Amber Heard hopes Johnny Depp trial will 'MEAN SOMETHING' to daughter Oonagh as she grows up
Amber Heard is hoping her arduous courtroom ordeal will "mean something" to her daughter when she grows up.
The Hollywood actress, 36, is reportedly planning to appeal the unanimous jury verdict in the defamation case brought on by her ex-husband Johnny Depp, 59. A Virginia-based jury panel ruled overwhelmingly in Depp's favor and awarded him more than $10 million in damages after deciding that Heard defamed him in a 2018 Washington Post op-ed about becoming a "public figure representing domestic abuse." While she did not mention Depp in the essay, his lawyers argued that the implications were obvious and damaged their client's career. That said, the jury also awarded Heard $2 million in damages on one of her three defamation counterclaims.
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During her interview with Today's Savannah Guthrie this week, Heard called the verdict a "setback" for women and that she was "scared" that it will mean more "silencing" of survivors hoping to come forward with their allegations. In a teaser of the NBC News sitdown, Heard shared that she's glad she can finally focus on her 14-month-old daughter Oonagh Paige after being preoccupied with lawyers for months.
Heard revealed last July that she had welcomed a baby through surrogacy on April 8, 2021. She explained at the time that "four years ago, I decided I wanted to have a child" and to "do it on my own terms." The embroiled actress celebrated her baby's first birthday shortly before the defamation trial began. "My little O is a year old today. I still can't believe you're here. The greatest year," she wrote on Instagram.
"How do you see your future now?" Guthrie asked Heard on Wednesday as her face lit up. "I get to be a mom, like, full time, you know? Where I'm not having to juggle calls with lawyers," the actress replied. Guthrie then asked, "One day you may want to tell your daughter about this or have to tell your daughter about everything that you've gone through. What would you want to say?" Heard responded, "I think no matter what...it will mean something," adding, "I did the right thing. I did everything I could to stand up for myself and the truth."
EXCLUSIVE: @SavannahGuthrie asks Amber Heard what the future holds for her and whether Heard will tell her daughter about "everything" that she has "gone through." pic.twitter.com/TxQhMJSqLF
— TODAY (@TODAYshow) June 15, 2022
Ironically, Heard's response was similar to Depp's statement after he came out victorious on June 1. "Speaking the truth was something that I owed to my children and to all those who have remained steadfast in their support of me. I feel at peace knowing I have finally accomplished that," he said following the verdict. "I hope that my quest to have the truth be told will have helped others, men or women, who have found themselves in my situation, and that those supporting them never give up," he added, thanking the jury as they "gave me my life back."
Depp, who has two kids -- son Jack, 20, and daughter Lily-Rose, 23 -- with his ex Vanessa Paradis, also thanked his fans for their support and felt he did the "right thing." He said, "To all of my most treasured, loyal, and unwavering supporters. We've been everywhere together, we have seen everything together. We have walked the same road together. We did the right thing together, all because you cared. And now, we will all move forward together."
Speaking to Guthrie, Heard also claimed she did not have a "fair representation" on social media during the trial. She had expressed similar concerns during her time on the witness stand, when she revealed she was "bombarded" by "vitriol" and death threats from Depp stans online, some of whom also made threats on her baby daughter. "I am harassed, humiliated, threatened every single day. Even just walking into this courtroom, sitting here in front of the world, having the worst parts of my life, things that I've lived through, used to humiliate me. People want to kill me, and they tell me so every day. People want to put my baby in the microwave, and they tell me that," she told the seven-member jury as millions tuned in to see the live proceedings.