Amber Heard has weighed in on the impact of her disastrous 2022 defamation trial with her ex-husband, Johnny Depp.
Having moved to Spain following the high-profile case, the 39-year-old actress seems to still be reeling from its impact, as she feels she has "lost her ability to speak."
Amber Heard is not the only one who walked away from the trial scarred, as Johnny Depp previously called himself a "sucker" for falling in love with her.
Amber Heard Says She Has Lost Her Ability To Speak Following Defamation Trial
Heard got candid about the impact of her 2022 defamation trial with Depp, explaining that she has lost her ability to speak ever since.
The "Aquaman" actress made global headlines when she went toe-to-toe with her ex-husband after he sued her for defamation regarding her op-ed claiming domestic abuse.
She ended up on the losing end and was ordered to pay him $10 million in compensatory damages, as well as $350,000 in punitive damages.
Appearing for the premiere of the new documentary "Silenced" at the Sundance Film Festival on Sunday, Heard addressed the topic, explaining how it has literally forced her into silence.
"This is not about me. I have lost my ability to speak. I am not here to tell my story," Heard bemoaned in a confessional for the documentary, per Variety.
"In fact, I don't want to use my voice anymore. That's the problem," the actress added.
Amber Heard References Johnny Depp's Lost Lawsuit In The UK Over 'Wife Beater' Claim In New Project
The documentary, which focuses on how defamation lawsuits are increasingly used to silence survivors of gender-based violence, marks one of the first times Heard has spoken publicly about the case since her legal feud with Depp ended in 2022.
Following the trial, the "Never Back Down" actress has largely retreated from the public eye and has since relocated to Madrid, Spain, to raise her three children.
In her latest project, Heard made reference to the libel lawsuit Depp lost in the UK after suing The Sun for claiming he was a "wife beater."
"The outcome of that trial depended on my participation, and I depended on the outcome of that trial," Heard recalled.
"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," she continued, referring to Jennifer Robinson, the international human rights lawyer who assisted her in the case at the time.
Amber Heard Says She Was Vilified For Coming Forward
The actress took to her social media account to release a statement after she and Depp came to a settlement for her to pay $1 million, a fee the "Pirates Of The Caribbean" star donated to five charities.
"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 wrote at the time. "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."
Heard continued, "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."
"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," she added. "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."
Johnny Depp Spoke On How Past Relationships Shaped His View On 'Love'
Heard isn't the only one who was impacted by the trial, as Depp previously spoke about how past relationships shaped his views on "love" and how that affected his relationship with the actress.
The pair met in 2011 before tying the knot in 2015. However, their marriage didn't last long as they called it quits just over a year later.
"So, what were my initial dealings with what we call 'love?'" Depp said, per The Sunday Times. "Clearly obtuse."
"And what that means is, if you're a sucker like I am, sometimes you look in a person's eye and see some sadness, some lonely thing, and you feel you can help that person," he continued.
"But no good deed goes unpunished, because there are those who, when you try to love and help them, will start to give you an understanding of what that malaise, that perturbance was in their eyes. It manifests itself in other ways," Depp added. "And the interesting thing is that it is merely a sliver of my life I have chosen to explore."
The Actor Says He Has No 'Reserve Of Hatred' For Amber Heard
Back in 2024, Depp hinted at how he felt about his ex-wife, Heard, as he shared a message of healing and not wanting the "baggage" of openly resenting anyone with The Hollywood Reporter.
The actor was asked to address a statement he made about how his life "turned into a soap opera" and if he still felt that way.
In response, Depp said, "Honestly, I can sit here this very second and think about all the hit pieces and how everybody was against me, and yeah, yeah, yeah, he is off the map … endless stuff."
"I can remember it all. Went through it all. Some of it was not the most beautiful time, some of it was hilarious. Some of it was mad. The thing is, it simply just was, and it simply just is. So, for me, it happened. I learned, man," Depp continued.
"Everything that we experience, whether you're given a snow cone or walking your dog, you learn something somewhere along the way," he added. "So I don't have any ill feelings toward anyone. I don't have this great reserve of hatred because hatred requires caring. Why carry that baggage?"
Since their split and legal drama, both Depp and Heard have moved on with their lives and careers, with Depp rumored to have a big Hollywood comeback in the works.