Three Years After the Depp Trial, Amber Heard Says the Fallout Was Even Worse Than She Imagined

In a candid new documentary, the actress breaks her silence, exposing the pressure, heartbreak, and hard-won resilience behind the spotlight.

Amber Heard is talking about not wanting to talk. In a new documentary, the actress revisits the courtroom years and the fallout that followed, and she does it while insisting she would rather not be using her voice at all. The film is called 'Silenced,' and it just premiered at Sundance. Here is what Heard says now, how the doc frames it, and where both she and Johnny Depp have landed since that very public 2022 trial.

What the documentary is

'Silenced' is directed by Selina Miles and centers on Australian human rights lawyer Jennifer Robinson, who represented Heard years ago. Heard is one of several women featured who came forward with allegations against powerful men, including abuse and sexual misconduct. Heard explains why she agreed to take part, but the headline is that she no longer wants to be the headline.

"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."

Quick recap: how we got here

• Heard and Depp married in 2015 and divorced in 2016.
• After The Sun called Depp a "wife beater," he sued the publisher, News Group Newspapers, for libel in the U.K. He lost that case in 2020. Heard was a key witness.
• Heard later wrote a Washington Post op-ed describing herself as someone who had experienced sexual violence. Depp sued Heard for defamation in the U.S.; she countersued.
• The Virginia trial ran from April to June 2022. The jury largely sided with Depp: it found Heard liable on three counts of defamation and found Depp liable on one count. Heard was initially ordered to pay $15 million in damages; Depp was ordered to pay $2 million.

What 'Silenced' shows

The doc tells this saga from Heard’s side. It captures the blowback she says she faced, including crowds of Depp supporters at the U.K. courthouse who, according to the film, hurled trash at her as she came and went. Heard also recounts a conversation with Jennifer Robinson at the end of that U.K. trial: she considered speaking to the press despite the hostility, thinking that if people threw things at her on camera, it would underline her point. What she did not anticipate, she says, was how much worse it could get simply for using her voice as a woman.

Depp’s perspective, in his words

Depp has addressed the U.S. defamation case, too. In a 2025 interview, he talked about statements from former partners and about the widely reported evidence in the case, including photos of feces and his severed finger. He said he felt he had to prove his innocence and knew he would "have to semi-eviscerate" himself to do it.

Where they are now

Both have moved on, at least professionally. Depp is in comeback mode with new gigs, including 'Day Drinker' and a turn headlining a 'Scrooge' movie. Heard relocated to Spain. Despite the rumor mill claiming she quit Hollywood, she is still working on screen and on stage.

So, will Heard keep talking?

Going by what she says in the film, probably not in detail. She frames her participation as part of a larger story, not a fresh tell-all. If you want to see what she does share in 'Silenced,' you will have to wait: after its Sundance premiere, the documentary is looking for a distributor.