Amber Heard says her op-ed wasn't directed towards Johnny Depp; 'Was about me & my life'

Johnny Depp and Amber Heard's defamation trial resumed on May 16 at the Fairfax, Virginia court, with the Aquaman actor taking to the stand. In the latest development, Amber Heard has claimed that the 2018 op-ed that she wrote for The Washington Post, which is at the centre of the whole case, wasn't directed towards Johnny Depp. 

According to the Independent, Heard insisted that the article is about what she endured 'after escaping her marriage' and that she was trying to 'raise awareness' around some of the issues she mentioned in it. “The only one who made it about him ironically is Johnny,” she told the court.

Amber Heard claims her 2018 op-ed wasn't directed at Johnny Depp

For the uninitiated, the article in question is titled “I spoke up against sexual violence – and faced our culture’s wrath. That has to change.” While Heard hasn't mentioned Depp in the article, she described herself as “a public figure representing domestic abuse.”

Taking to the stand after a one week break, Heard answered if she had any 'ill will or bad intentions' towards Johnny while publishing the op-ed. Heard insisted, "None." She mentioned that the article was initially drafted by the American Civil Liberties Union, for which she was an ambassador, in order to discuss women's issues. 

"I was trying to raise awareness around some of the issues that I just mentioned," she said. Amber also added, "It’s not about Johnny. The only one who thought it was about Johnny is Johnny." She continued, "It's about what happened to me after I escaped my marriage. It was about me and my life and what I endured."

In the article, Heard mentioned the “culture’s wrath" that women face after they come forward with domestic violence allegations. "Like many women, I had been harassed and sexually assaulted by the time I was of college-age. But I kept quiet — I did not expect filing complaints to bring justice. And I didn’t see myself as a victim,” she wrote.

Depp's former talent agent Christian Carino also testified that the actor may have lost his job in the sixth installment of the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise due to Amber's allegations. 

Image: AP