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Breaking her silence. Amber Heard’s sister, Whitney Henriquez, released a statement in support of the Aquaman actress following Johnny Depp’s verdict in his defamation trial against his ex-wife.
On June 1, 2022, a seven-person jury found Heard liable of three counts of defamation as a result of her 2018 Washington Post op-ed about domestic abuse, though she did not mention the Pirates of the Caribbean actor by name in the article. Heard was ordered to pay her ex-husband $10.35 million in damages. Depp, for his part, was ordered to pay $2 million in compensatory damages after being found guilty of one count of defamation in Heard’s countersuit.
Following the Depp verdict, Heard’s sister took to social media to show her support for her older sibling despite her loss against her ex-husband. Keep on reading ahead for Amber Heard’s sister Whitney’s response to the trial.
Amber Heard’s sister Whitney’s response to Johnny Depp’s verdict
Amber Heard’s younger sister, who testified on her behalf during her trial with Johnny Depp, spoke up in defense of the actress in a lengthy Instagram post shared on June 5, 2022.
“I still stand with you, sissy,” Henriquez, 34, began. “Yesterday, today and tomorrow I will always be proud of you for standing up for yourself, for testifying both here in Virginia and in the UK, and for being the voice of so many who can’t speak to the things that happen behind closed doors.”
Henriquez, who was present in the courtroom when the verdict was announced, went on to reveal that she sensed the odds were not in her sister’s favor. “We knew that this was going to be an uphill battle and that the cards were stacked against us. But you stood up and spoke out regardless,” she continued. “I am so honored to testify for you, and I would do it a million times over because I know what I saw and because the truth is forever on your side.”
Henriquez concluded, “I’m so sorry that it wasn’t reflected in the decision made by this jury, but I will never give up on you, and neither will anyone who stands with you. Forever by your side…#istandwithamberheard.”
Amber Heard’s sister Whitney’s testimony
Image: REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque/AP Images.
Weeks before the verdict was announced in Depp and Heard’s trial, Henriquez testified on behalf of her sister about an alleged incident that took place between her and the Edward Scissorhands actor in 2015. According to Henriquez, her then-brother-in-law hit her in the back before going on to hit her sister “repeatedly.” During Heard’s account of the alleged incident, the actress admitted to punching Depp in an effort to defend her sister. Depp, for his part, denied this version of events.
During her testimony, Henriquez revealed that she and Depp “got along really well at first” when she was living with the couple for a time. “Frankly, we all fell in love with him. At first,” she told the courtroom, according to People. But things purportedly took a turn in their relationship when Henriquez began standing up for her sister during Heard’s arguments with the actor. Henriquez recounted one alleged incident, where the trio were arguing at the top of a flight of stairs. “I’m at the top of the stairs with my back to the stairs, and that’s when Johnny runs up the stairs. I’m facing Amber, he comes up behind me, strikes me in the back,” Henriquez alleged.
“I hear Amber shout, ‘Don’t hit my f—ing sister!’ She smacks him, lands one. At that point, that’s when [Depp’s security guard] Travis [McGivern] runs up the stairs, after Amber landed one,” she continued. “But by that time, Johnny had already grabbed Amber by the hair with one hand and was whacking her repeatedly in the face with the other as I was standing there. Travis then pulls them apart.”
Following the alleged staircase incident, Henriquez said she was asked to sign a non-disclosure agreement. “There was an NDA on my kitchen table,” she claimed. “My understanding is it’s a contract to keep things private. To keep your mouth shut, essentially. I was asked to sign one. I don’t believe I signed it. I left sometime after.”
Depp, meanwhile, recalled liking Henriquez when they first met, referring to her as a “sweet kid” during his time on the stand. However, according to Depp, she and Heard had a tumultuous relationship. “Whitney was trying to please her sister, trying to be up to snuff and it just seemed like she got shot down every time,” he said.
Amber Heard’s response to Johnny Depp’s verdict
After Depp’s verdict was announced, Heard also released a statement of her own in response to her loss. The actress referred to the trial’s results as a “setback” for women and survivors of domestic abuse. “The disappointment I feel today is beyond words. I’m heartbroken that the mountain of evidence still was not enough to stand up to the disproportionate power, influence and sway of my ex-husband,” she wrote.
Heard added, “I’m even more disappointed with what this verdict means for other women. It is a setback. It sets back the clock to a time when a woman who spoke up and spoke out could be publicly shamed and humiliated. It sets back the idea that violence against women is to be taken seriously.”
“I believe Johnny’s attorneys succeeded in getting the jury to overlook the key issue of Freedom of Speech and ignore evidence that was so conclusive that we won in the U.K.,” she continued. “I’m sad I lost this case. But I am sadder still that I seem to have lost a right I thought I had as an American — to speak freely and openly.”
If you or someone you know is experiencing domestic violence, help is available. Call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 800-799-SAFE (7233) for confidential support.
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