Johnny Depp Makes Rare Statement About Amber Heard Trial

The defamation trial between Johnny Depp and Amber Heard was one of the most-watched celebrity court cases in decades. While the world dissected every second of the livestream, the former couple stayed mostly silent in the years that followed — until now.

While chatting with The Sunday Times in a rare interview published Saturday, June 21, the 62-year-old Charlie and the Chocolate Factory icon finally opened up about the explosive lawsuit, why he refused to back down, and how the fallout exposed people he once considered friends.

“Look, it had gone far enough,” Depp said. “I knew I’d have to semi-eviscerate myself. Everyone was saying, ‘It’ll go away!’ But I can’t trust that. What will go away? The fiction pawned around the f***ing globe? No it won’t. If I don’t try to represent the truth it will be like I’ve actually committed the acts I am accused of. And my kids will have to live with it.” (Depp shares daughter Lily-Rose, 26, and son Jack, 23, with ex-partner Vanessa Paradis.)

The trial, which centered around Heard’s 2018 Washington Post op-ed, ended with a jury siding with Depp in June 2022. She later paid him $1 million to settle the case.

“The night before the trial in Virginia I didn’t feel nervous,” the Edward Scissorhands star recalled. “If you don’t have to memorize lines, if you’re just speaking the truth? Roll the dice.”

Depp said the experience forced him to see the industry differently, especially when many people distanced themselves. “I was pre-MeToo. I was like a crash test dummy for MeToo,” he said. “And so I wanted from the hundreds of people I’ve met in that industry to see who was playing it safe. Better go woke!”

The Hollywood Vampires guitarist continued, “I’ll tell you what hurts. There are people, and I’m thinking of three, who did me dirty. Those people were at my kids’ parties. Throwing them in the air.”

Despite everything, Depp says he holds no bitterness — and doesn’t regret anything. “It would be dumb for me to carry any bitterness. Eternal hatred? You want to put curses on someone? No,” he said. “I know who I am, what that was… it was a learning experience.”

Depp and Heard, 39, were married from 2015 to 2016. Their divorce and the abuse allegations that followed dominated headlines for years. While Depp has mostly avoided talking about it publicly, Heard told Today after the trial that she was focusing on motherhood and stood by "every word" of her testimony.

Now a mom of three, the Aquaman actress announced in May that she welcomed twin babies, Ocean and Agnes, joining daughter Oonagh Paige, born in 2021. A rep told People Heard was “delighted to welcome the twins and complete her family.”

Meanwhile, Depp is back at work. He recently wrapped filming Day Drinker with Penélope Cruz and is preparing for the release of Modi, his second film as a director. But when asked about the idea of a “comeback,” he brushed it off.

“Honestly? I didn’t go anywhere,” he told the outlet. “If I had the chance to split I would never come back.”