Amber Heard: 'I Have Lost My Ability to Speak'

Amber Heard is speaking publicly about the fallout from her legal battles with ex-husband Johnny Depp, but says she no longer wants to tell her own story, People reports. In a new documentary titled Silenced, which premiered Saturday at the Sundance Film Festival, the 39-year-old actor reflects on the aftermath of the high-profile defamation cases involving her and Depp. The film, directed by Selina Miles, examines how defamation laws can be used against people who report abuse. "This is not about me," Heard says in the documentary, according to Variety. "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."

Heard and international human rights lawyer Jennifer Robinson both appear in the film; Robinson previously assisted Heard during Depp's unsuccessful libel case against British tabloid The Sun after it referred to him as a "wife-beater." Heard recalls considering addressing the press after that trial, saying she believed that even if she was met with public hostility, it would only serve to underscore her point about the backlash against women who speak out. "I didn't understand it could get so much worse for me as a woman, using my voice," she says. The documentary also follows others who've struggled after making accusations of misconduct, including Colombian journalist and activist Catalina Ruiz-Navarro and Australian former political staffer Brittany Higgins, with Sundance materials describing it as a look at how "powerful systems move to discredit and punish" women who come forward.

Heard, who is now a mother of three, says she finds encouragement in others who continue to speak publicly about abuse and inequality. "It gives me strength seeing other people take on the fight," she says in the film, adding that watching her children grow up has reinforced her belief that the world "can be better." Years of legal conflict between Heard and Depp ended in 2022 with a settlement that saw Heard agreeing to pay Depp $1 million, which his team said would be donated to charity. This is the first film Heard has appeared in since 2023; she made her professional theatrical debut last year, Vanity Fair reported at the time.