Post-Settlement Pained Communication by Amber Heard in Defamation Case

Amber Heard and Johnny Depp. Image courtesy of NBC News

“Amber Heard settles defamation case against Johnny Depp”

by Julianne McShane at NBC News

Amber Heard had the jury rule against her in a U.S. defamation suit brought by Johnny Depp. She appealed. Now, under financial duress and other significant stress and wanting to protect her future against what may have seemed an unlikely redemption, she settled the case.

The reasoning, “… an opportunity to emancipate myself from something I attempted to leave over six years ago and on terms I can agree to… I have made no admission. This is not an act of concession. There are no restrictions or gags with respect to my voice moving forward,” Heard said.

“For too many years I have been caged in an arduous and expensive legal process, which has shown itself unable to protect me and my right to free speech. I cannot afford to risk an impossible bill — one that is not just financial but also psychological, physical and emotional… Women shouldn’t have to face abuse or bankruptcy for speaking her truth, but unfortunately it is not uncommon.”

She wanted to let those who supported her know that she “will not be threatened, disheartened, or dissuaded by what happened from speaking the truth.”

Communication Intelligence wanted to examine this outcome and the words expressed about it.

This conversation includes Holly R. Davis, a family law attorney and founding partner of Kirker Davis and Dr. Carole Lieberman, also known as Dr. Carole, a forensic psychiatrist and expert witness who was trained at NYU-Bellevue and at Anna Freud's London Clinic.

She is the author of “Bad Boys: Why We Love Them, How To Live with Them and When To Leave Them” and “Bad Girls: Why Men Love Them & How Good Girls Can Learn Their Secrets.”

Heard of course didn’t set out to settle. She wanted legal remedy and relief, to gain some level of support from the courts. In the end, she made the decision she felt was the logical, safe way to move forward and not be addicted to sunk cost fallacy.

Her pain from her public statement, noticeable. Heard is strong, defiant and resistant to any idea she’s been legally gagged. She is inferring that is her strength and a “win.”

Holly R. Davis is a family law attorney and founding partner of Kirker Davis

“She can label it a win because she can describe it as an injustice levied upon her moving forward, at least in similar terms as her social media post, but it is definitely not a legal win on her part, nor is it a win in the court of popular opinion,” Davis says.

“She clearly values being able to spin the US trial as an injustice, and given that she claims she will not be limited moving forward in speaking about her experience, we can expect her to have some pre-authorized or settled-upon ways in which she can speak about the trial.”

Depp’s attorneys, Lieberman says, are presenting the outcome differently, forming a contrary narrative.

“They say that the settlement agreement precludes Amber from saying anything that could again be considered defamation and they are ready to take action against her if she tries.”

Depp has had his vocal, aggressive supporters against Heard yet Heard has had her vocal defenders as well. Critics of each person in this entrenched conflict believe they the villain is being deceitful, and lying.

Is there any possibility that Depp didn't do what Heard consistently alleges?

“Yes it is an extremely likely possibility that Depp did not do what Heard alleged,” Davis asserts. “The jury did not believe the Depp did what Heard alleged, hence their jury award against Heard. The public did not believe what Heard alleged against Depp, hence their swift and comprehensive rejection of her story.”

The error for the actress was rooted in overconfidence, Davis concludes.

“Amber Heard underestimated the portions of her story that involved her own abusive and problematic behavior. To claim to be a victim of domestic violence while also conceding under cross examination to being an abuser herself of Depp was extremely problematic for her legal case.”

Lieberman also believes it is plausible that Depp didn’t commit the alleged crimes.

“I do not think that Johnny Depp did what Amber alleged. I watched the whole Depp vs. Heard trial, and, as a forensic psychiatrist and expert witness, who has testified in countless cases of alleged abuse, on both sides, I think the jury got it right,” she says.

“Johnny’s history of having grown up with an abusive mother explains why he was unconsciously attracted to Amber. It’s called the ‘repetition compulsion,’” she explains.

“Unconsciously, he was drawn to her to repeat his childhood trauma but to try to make it come out right time. This doesn’t mean by his being abusive to her, but rather by his trying to get her to stop abusing him by putting space between them.

“But, Amber wouldn’t go along with his attempts to have them take a breather because she has a fear of abandonment. Each time Johnny tried to go to a different room or house, it scared Amber, because she took it as his desire to abandon her. So, it was an irreparably toxic relationship.”

Heard has now been, many supporters believe, traumatized again by the US court, a man, with the legal loss to Depp, as well as the shaming and ugliness on social media.

Assuming or believing beyond a reasonable doubt that Depp is 100-percent guilty of all Heard alleges and Heard wasn’t and isn’t guilty of defaming him, recovery from the trauma, grief, anger and depression from not being believed and on top of that, being hated, ridiculed, mocked and shamed, is a tall order and uphill climb.

“Therapy can help with processing traumatic experiences,” Davis says, adding, “However, I believe that Amber Heard was provided many opportunities to avoid the public reaction to her claims through her legal counsel.

“As an attorney, if a client were to walk through my door with a story that they 100% believed, but they also had a mountain of evidence that made them look bad or slightly responsible or unlikeable, my job as their fiduciary is to help them avoid an outcome where a person might not believe their 100% true story based on the other facts that paint them in a bad light, or other behavior that is problematic, illegal, or abusive.

“Amber Heard was given the opportunity to not air these facts which would cloud the jury’s opinion of her and of the case, but she declined to follow that advice and roll the dice.

“Jury trials are always a risk, and given their cost, her attorneys likely apprised her of those risks, which she declined to heed,” Davis explains.

Dr. Carole Lieberman, a/k/a Dr. Carole is a forensic psychiatrist, expert witness and author

Lieberman suggests one possible course of action for Heard to heal.

“Heard has been traumatized by the trial and the public shaming, regardless of to what extent she believes she’s innocent. She can recover by moving away, as she has done, albeit temporarily, and by making new friends, and finding work, either as an actress or in some other role in the entertainment industry or a different industry altogether.

“Spending time with her daughter is healing for both Amber and her daughter, who missed being Amber's focus for months. Amber can also content herself with the knowledge that she has left painful scars on Johnny, from the trial and from her severing his finger tip.

“Not only did his severed finger cause him physical pain, but also emotional pain. Each time he looks at his scarred finger, he will remember how she castrated him, as his finger symbolically represents his other organ. This should comfort Amber,” she says.

Heard’s pain, resentment and commitment to speak publicly and communicate her story is going to be received positively by supporters and with an eye roll by critics.

Whether she can eventually sway additional public opinion in her direction, and in her mind, and those of supporters, hold Depp accountable, remains a challenge and mystery.

Davis doesn’t see this happening and she expresses it bluntly.

“Doubtful,” she says. “After two trials and six weeks worth of telling her story, most of which the public and jury did not believe in the U.S. lawsuit, I do not think there is a way that she can tell her story that will ultimately change opinions.

“If she was not telling the truth, or if she was telling the truth about her experience as a victim but was not also telling the other part of the truth regarding her experience as an abuser to Depp, it would make sense that she would forevermore be trying to plead her case against Depp and absolve herself of any responsibility of her own admitted behavior through public statements post-settlement.”

Heard, Davis believes, is doing herself more harm, self-inflicting added damage to her reputation.

“Post-settlement claims of injustice show her as not learning any lessons from the trial and pursuing a one-sided version of events that factor in zero accountability or responsibility on her part, which in my mind doesn’t help her credibility in the public eye at all.”

What if, however, Heard and her representatives have new strategy planned and already working. That’s what Lieberman believes is possible.

“One has to wonder whether Amber has already made a commitment to some print outlet, film studio, television or streaming network, to do a project in which she will again put forth her allegations of abuse, she says.

This could be the empowerment and advantage Heard has sought.

“In such a format, Johnny’s voice wouldn’t be heard,” Lieberman concludes. “This could be why she’s testing the waters now by saying that her voice isn’t gagged by the settlement agreement. She wants to hear what Johnny’s team says, and they have made their legal opinions clear.”