The Amber Heard Op-Ed Which Depp Sued Over Has Now Been Modified

Amber Heard wrote an op-ed that started the entire defamation trial against her by Johnny Depp. Now the op-ed has been greatly modified.

By Dan Lawrence | Published

amber heard

For those of you who hadn’t realized, there’s a reason that Amber Heard and Johnny Depp’s names are constantly trending across social media and that their faces are always shown on multiple news outlets. Depp and Heard had spent the majority of their recent weeks battling it out in court in a defamation trial. The crux of the case was an op-ed Heard published in The Washington Post, which Depp cited as a suitable cause to sue his ex-wife for defamation, a case Depp won. Now that op-ed piece has a rather substantial modification. You can see the editor’s note pulled from the op-ed below:

Editor’s note, June 2, 2022: In 2019, Johnny Depp sued Amber Heard for defamation arising out of this 2018 op-ed. On June 1, 2022, following a trial in Fairfax County, Va. Circuit Court, a jury found Heard liable on three counts for the following statements, which Depp claimed were false and defamatory: (1) “I spoke up against sexual violence — and faced our culture’s wrath. That has to change.” (2) “Then two years ago, I became a public figure representing domestic abuse, and I felt the full force of our culture’s wrath for women who speak out.” (3) “I had the rare vantage point of seeing, in real time, how institutions protect men accused of abuse.” The jury separately found that Depp, through his lawyer Adam Waldman, defamed Heard in one of three counts in her countersuit.

The modification of Amber Heard’s now divisive op-ed is a rather hefty editor’s note that comes before the main body of the piece. The editor’s note refers to the Amber Heard/Johnny Depp defamation case and pulls out the three specific quotes that Johnny Depp and his legal team alleged were grounds for defamation, which ultimately a jury agreed with. The note also mentions how the jury found that Depp via his lawyer defamed Amber Heard in one of the three counts in her countersuit.

The edit made to The Washington Post op-ed is just one of a raft of changes Amber Heard is experiencing following the results of the defamation case between her and Johnny Depp. Speculative reports suggest that the damages Heard must pay to her ex-husband could lead to the actress filing for bankruptcy. As well as this, a petition to have Heard removed from Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom has surpassed 4.5 million signatures. Given the difficulties now facing Amber Heard, it should come as no surprise that Heard and her legal team are seeking to appeal the verdict made in the defamation trial.

On the other side of the coin, while Amber Heard is going through a significantly low ebb, Johnny Depp is seemingly having a positive time following the court ruling largely in favor of him following the defamation trial. The Pirates of the Caribbean star has been seen performing at a variety of music venues across the United Kingdom in recent days. Both Amber Heard and Johnny Depp’s change in fortunes are reflected in the statements both parties separately made following the end of their lengthy court battle. Amber Heard spoke of heartbreak, whilst Depp spoke of feeling humbled and noted support he had felt from all over.

The editing of Amber Heard’s op-ed piece in The Washington Post will now serve as a constant reminder of Johnny Depp’s successful pursuit of suing his ex-wife for defamation. In essence, the piece now takes on the form of a digital tie capsule, forever encapsulating the defamation trial that has grabbed the world’s attention. A small but significant change and one that could be followed by further ramifications that could have a negative impact on Amber Heard’s career. Time will tell what if any, ramifications occur and whether Heard and her legal team will find success in seeking an appeal to what the actress will only see as a damaging verdict. One thing does remain certain, the Amber Heard/Johnny Depp story has yet to reach its conclusion.