Johnny Depp shares how he really feels about Amber Heard two years since winning defamation case

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By stefan armitage

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Johnny Depp has opened up about the impact of his high-profile 2022 defamation trial against Amber Heard - and shared how he really feels about his ex-wife.

Johnny DeppJohnny Depp has opened up about his "soap opera" trial. Credit: Vittorio Zunino Celotto / Getty

A little over two years ago, 61-year-old Depp emerged victorious in a very public defamation case that stemmed from Heard's 2018 op-ed for The Washington Post - where she described herself as a victim of domestic abuse.

Despite Depp initially being awarded $15 million by the courts and Heard being awarded $2 million in compensation after winning one of her three counter-claims, the former couple came to an agreement that the Aquaman star would only pay Depp $1 million in order to settle the case.

Throughout the trial, each of the Hollywood stars made damning claims against one another, and led to a number of unsavory headlines in the press.

Amber HeardCredit: Consolidated News Pictures / Getty

Fast-forward two years, and Heard - now 38 - has moved to the Spanish city of Madrid and is content to raise her two-year-old daughter away from the Los Angeles noise.

And it looks like Depp is also in a good place, as he recently sat down with The Hollywood Reporter to discuss his new directorial role on Modi: Three Days on the Wing of Madness.

When asked about how his life was turned into a "soap opera" for the world to see, Depp opened up about the lasting impact of the trial and the lessons he learned.

 "I can sit here this very second and think about all the hit pieces, and how everybody was against me, and yeah, yeah, yeah, he is off the map… endless stuff," he said. "I can remember it all. Went through it all.

"Some of it was not the most beautiful time, some of it was hilarious. Some of it was mad.

"The thing is, it simply just was, and it simply just is. So, for me, it happened. I learned, man. Everything that we experience, whether you’re given a snow cone or walking your dog, you learn something somewhere along the way."


Depp then revealed that he doesn't harbor "any ill feelings toward anyone" - including Heard.

He continued: "I don’t have this great reserve of hatred, because hatred requires caring. Why carry that baggage?"

Depp's comments come after Heard was asked about her ex-husband last month, to which she said: "I'm living here in Madrid, I love Spain.

"I'm very lucky to be here, and regarding my past, I don't feel like thinking or talking about it, because I'm happy and in peace."

GettyImages-504218476.jpgHeard and Depp were embroiled in a legal battle which ended in 2022. Credit: Roy Rochlin/Getty

Heard and Depp first met back in 2009, and would go on to tie the knot in 2015.

Their marriage lasted two years, with the couple eventually divorcing in 2017.

Following the chaos both stars went through, it's good to see they have both moved on now.

Featured image credit: Vittorio Zunino Celotto / Getty