Amber Heard says she’s been labelled a ‘liar’ because Johnny Depp is ‘the bigger star’

Heard said Depp’s ‘publicity reach’ has been a factor in people’s opinions on the subject

Amber Heard has explained why she believes she’s been labelled a “liar” during the Johnny Depp trial.

Heard is being sued by Depp for $50m (£40.1m) for implying he abused her in a 2018 Washington Post op-ed. Although she didn’t specifically name him, Depp claims her allegations impacted his ability to work.

The matter of Heard’s claimed charity donation of the divorce settlement she reached with Depp was raised in court on Monday (16 May).

In 2018, the Aquaman star told Dutch TV show RTL Late Night that she had paid half of her $7m (£5.6m) divorce settlement to the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) charity.

However, years after the charity said they were yet to receive the donation, Heard told the court she has “not been able to fulfil those obligations yet”.

Depp’s lawyer asked if her announcement was due to wanting “praise”, “good press” and to “seem altruistic publicly”, to which Heard replied: “That wasn’t my interest.”

Elaborating, Heard said: “My interest is in my name – in clearing my name. At the time, I was being called a ‘liar’ and my motives were being questioned. I did see it as important to clear that up.”

She continued: “I wanted to make a statement to make sure there was not any doubt. That I couldn’t be labelled these things just because Johnny was the bigger star and had more publicity reach.”

Elsewhere, Heard appeared to confirm rumours that her situation with Depp had impacted her role in the Aquaman sequel.

“I fought really hard to stay in the movie,” she said, adding: “They didn’t want to include me in the film.”

These comments came after a petition to have Heard axed from the sequel gained heat online.

Heard previously condemned the campaign to have her removed from the film and denied that the outcome of the Depp libel case had any impact on her own franchise.

“Paid rumours and paid campaigns on social media don’t dictate [casting decisions] because they have no basis in reality,” Heard said in a statement. “Only the fans actually made Aquaman and Aquaman 2 happen. I’m excited to get started next year.”

Later in her testimony, she refuted Depp’s lawyer’s claim that her ex-husband was the reason she’d been cast in Aquaman.

On Wednesday 18 May, former *NSYNC singer Lance Bass came under fire for mocking Heard’s emotional testimony in a viral TikTok video.