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Could Johnny Depp pursue further legal action against Amber Heard following comments she made in her first post-trial interview? Some analysts say publicly doubling down on claims already found defamatory could give Depp grounds to ask the court to make her stop.

What three words did experts note as risky for Heard to use in her case for several reasons? And how could her remarks give Depp legal options moving forward?

Amber Heard sits in court before being found to have defamed Johnny Depp and reinforcing her claims in interview comments
Amber Heard | Brendan Smialowski/POOL/AFP/ Getty Images

While talking to Savannah Guthrie for TODAY in her first interview since receiving an unfavorable verdict, Heard reiterated her abuse claims. She talked about her “ugly” marriage and said she’ll stand by her testimony for the rest of her life.

Furthermore, Heard claimed that Depp lied when he denied the abuse. But she also used one phrase that some legal analysts think could carry some potential risk. That’s the idea of speaking “truth to power.”

Heard said truth is all she spoke and added, “I spoke it to power. And I paid the price.”

Attorney Gary Williams told Law & Crime that she should “be careful” using those words because they carry so much weight. “We in this nation have to be honest about the conversation when we talk about truth to power,” he said.

He explained the phrase is common in talks about civil rights and equality. But he added the words “mean more than what she’s saying.”

Could Amber Heard have created a legal risk with comments about Johnny Depp trial?

Legal commentator Emily D. Baker noted that Heard’s claim of speaking truth to power and paying the price is close in meaning to one claim found defamatory from her 2018 op-ed: “Then two years ago, I became a public figure representing domestic abuse, and I felt the full force of our culture’s wrath for women who speak out.”

“I am waiting to see a motion for injunction,” Baker noted, meaning team Depp would request recourse from the court to compel Heard to stop making such comments.

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Amber Heard Opened up About ‘Ugly’ Marriage to Johnny Depp: ‘We Were Awful to Each Other’

What’s next for Amber Heard and Johnny Depp after their trial?

Heard told Guthrie she’s now worried about further lawsuits from Depp. “I’m scared that no matter what I do, no matter what I say or how I say it, every step that I take will present another opportunity for this sort of silencing,” she said. “Which is what a defamation lawsuit is meant to do. It’s meant to take your voice.”

For his part, Depp is gearing up for another potential trial. A location manager on the set of the actor’s film City of Lies brought suit against him, accusing Depp of punching him and yelling at him. He also said the film’s producer wrongfully terminated him following the incident.

According to recent reports, Camille Vasquez represents Depp again in this lawsuit, which requests undisclosed damages. As the Hollywood Reporter shared, a script supervisor defended Depp. She said the actor stood up to the plaintiff, who allegedly berated a homeless African American woman with “racial and derogatory slurs” for being in his way.

That witness declared to the court she had time-stamped photographs to prove Depp did not become violent as claimed in the lawsuit.

How to get help: In the U.S., call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233 or text START to 88788.

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