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Amber Heard says she received death threats after Johnny Depp abuse claims

Actress Amber Heard attends the Planned Parenthood of New York City spring gala benefit at Center415 on Wednesday, May 1, 2019, in New York. (Photo by Evan Agostini/Invision/AP)
Amber Heard (Credit: Evan Agostini/Invision/AP)

Amber Heard has spoken about how she received death threats after she accused her ex-husband Johnny Depp of domestic abuse.

The actress, who is being sued by Depp in a $50 million (£38.4 million) defamation suit over an op-ed she wrote in the Washington Post, was speaking at a conference in New York when she revealed the level of harassment she received.

“I’m somebody who has obviously suffered the full force of the wrath of our culture when a woman or a survivor speaks up against a more powerful force,” she told an audience at the Create & Cultivate event.

Read more: Amber Heard details horrific new abuse claims

“I’ve seen that firsthand ― from death threats to harassment to bullying to invasions of my privacy to threats to my career to my livelihood, my safety — and yet I’m still here.

“I’m here because I refuse to accept those be the terms of my silence. I refuse to accept those be the terms that other people, who are in positions of power, who seek to maintain the status quo, have set for me.

“I refuse to stand in line. It can work and it will work as long as you stand up for what’s right and speak your truth. If you’re quiet, you’ll be ignored.”

Photo by: Michael Germana/STAR MAX/IPx 2019 1/9/16 Amber Heard and Johnny Depp during The Art of Elysium's Ninth Annual Heaven Gala held in Culver City, California.
Amber Heard and Johnny Depp (Credit: Michael Germana/STAR MAX/IPx)

Heard added that her work in films pales in comparison to her sense of achievement in speaking out.

“That is nothing in comparison to the pride I feel for what I stood up for because it was right and true. I did that despite what it cost me. That wealth of pride gives back to me and will give back to my daughters and their daughters a million times over.

“I am proud I did the hard stuff. I would rather be unpopular. I would rather go down for being who I am than to be popular for something I'm not.”

Read more: Depp reportedly tried to get Amber Heard fired from Aquaman

Heard, who met Depp while making the movie The Rum Diaries in 2011, filed for divorce from Depp in 2016, a year after they had married.

She also filed for a restraining order against the Pirates of the Caribbean star, giving detailed allegations of physical abuse she said she suffered while they were married.

The couple reached a settlement in late 2016, and finalised their split in 2017.

But Depp, who has called Heard's version of events 'an elaborate hoax', filed a defamation suit against Heard in January after she wrote an op-ed for the Post, claiming that it violated a non-disclosure agreement which made up part of their settlement.

Depp has counter-claimed that Heard assaulted him during their relationship.