Amber Heard Sticks To Her Story In New Documentary, ‘Silenced’
That’s her story, and she’s sticking to it. Amber Heard made a return to the public eye for the first time since 2023 in the documentary Silenced. Debuting at the first Sundance to be held after the death of founder Robert Redford, the documentary covers the topic of women challenged or deterred from speaking out against alleged abuse by the kind of defamation lawsuit Heard was part of.
“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,” Heard said via Variety in a blunt chat with Silenced co-director Selina Miles. The Aquaman star appears as one of several case studies.
Former husband Johnny Depp’s suit against Heard was an international sensation that brought much negative publicity to both sides. When the court ruled in his favor, not many were surprised by the outcome. Heard had been convicted virtually in the court of public opinion before the decision was handed down, especially after her allegations of abuse led to Depp being fired from Fantastic Beasts 3.
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After the trial, she disappeared from the public eye, and most of her support dried up. However, she remains steadfast about her account – still presenting herself as a victim. “The outcome of that trial depended on my participation, and I depended on the outcome of that trial. When I first met [human rights lawyer Jennifer Robinson], I immediately got the sense that she got the bigger picture. What has happened to me is an amplified version of what a lot of women live through,” Heard added.
“I remember at the close of the trial, the idea that I could say something to the press came up. [Robinson] asked if I was sure about that. [I thought], ‘If they throw things at me, it will make this point more obvious.’ I didn’t understand it could get so much worse for me as a woman, using my voice,” The Ward star continued.
“In the post-#MeToo world, we saw women break the cultural silence, speaking out publicly about gender-based violence. What we then saw is their alleged perpetrator bringing a defamation claim saying, ‘This is not true, it’s defamatory, and I’m going to sue you for a lot of money,” Robinson would add.
Heard tried to end on an encouraging note, saying, “It gives me strength seeing other people take on the fight. Women brave enough to address the imbalance of power. Looking at my daughter’s face as she grows up and slowly starts to walk into this world… I believe it can be better.”
However, her appearance in Silenced – which still doesn’t have distribution – can be interpreted in contrasting ways: as an attempt to reclaim a narrative, as well as dwindling fame, and as an effort to keep her victim card despite the emphatic legal outcome.
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