Amber Heard Speaks Out Against Domestic Violence In Powerful New PSA [Video]

Amber Heard, who divorced actor Johnny Depp in August, speaks out about the need to better address domestic violence in a new video posted to YouTube and Facebook by Girlgaze. According to the “About” section of its YouTube channel, “Girlgaze is a multi-media company that generates visibility and support for the next generation of female-identifying creatives.”

Heard’s video was released in honor of the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Towards Women, according to Entertainment Tonight. The United Nations has recognized November 25 as the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Towards Women since 1999.

Amber Heard won’t be shamed any longer in powerful domestic violence PSA https://t.co/d4vvw92trD pic.twitter.com/NaxNeYutmV

— Huffington Post (@HuffingtonPost) November 27, 2016

“I guess there was a lot of shame attached to that label of ‘victim,'” Heard says in the video. “It happens to so many women. When it happens in your home, behind closed doors, with someone you love, it’s not as straightforward.”

She then adds, “If a stranger did this it would be a no-brainer.”

Heard — who has appeared in films such as Pineapple Express (2008), Zombieland (2009), Machete Kills (2013), and Magic Mike XXL (2015), among others — filed for divorce from Depp in May. She cited irreconcilable differences as the reason for the divorce.

However, less than a week later she requested a restraining order against Depp. Heard showed up to the court hearing for the restraining order with a bruise near her eye that she alleged was from Depp throwing a cellphone at her face, according to Entertainment Tonight.

Then, in June, Entertainment Tonight published a text exchange that supposedly took place between Heard and Depp’s personal assistant, Stephen Deuters, in which the two discussed an ongoing pattern of violent abuse that Depp allegedly committed against Heard. The texts date back to May of 2014.

Entertainment Tonight did not receive independent confirmation of the authenticity of the texts but published them in their entirety.

“He’s incredibly apologetic and knows that he has done wrong. He wants to get better now,” one text reportedly from Deuters reads. “He’s been very explicit about that this morning. Feel like we’re at a critical juncture.”

“Obviously he has no idea what he did or the extent that he did it,” the person said to be Heard responds. “If someone was truly honest with him about how bad it really was, he’d be appalled.”

“I’m sad that he doesn’t have a better way to really know the severity of his actions yesterday,” she continues. “Unfortunately for me, I remember in full detail everything that happened.”

“He was appalled,” the person purported to be Deuters replies. “When I told him he kicked you, he cried. It was disgusting. And he knows it.”

In the final text allegedly from Heard, the history of the abuse is summarized.

“He’s done this many times before. Tokyo, the island, London (remember that?!), and I always stay. Always believe he’s going to get better…And then every 3 or so month [sic], I’m in the exact same position.”

Despite the fact that the exchange chronicling the abuse appears to have taken place in May of 2014, Heard and Depp married in February of 2015.

Amber Heard – The Adderall Diaries Premiere in New York City https://t.co/edHN1Ae6Hu #AmberHeard

— Roderick Casey (@ekdorofeeva7049) November 17, 2016

Once Heard filed for divorce, several more accusations of violent incidents came to light.

“As a women having gone through this in the public stage, in the public arena that I did it in, I have a unique opportunity to remind other women that this doesn’t have to be the way it is,” Heard says in the Girlgaze video. “You don’t have to do it alone. You’re not alone, and we can change this.”

Depp most recently appeared in Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them (2016). He is slated to appear in the upcoming sequel to that film and has also been cast to co-star in the upcoming LAbyrinth, which dramatizes the unsolved murders of Tupac Shakur and Notorious B.I.G.

Variety recently reported that Academy-Award-winner Forest Whitaker was in talks to sign on as co-star of LAbyrinth.

Heard and Depp met while filming The Rum Diary (2011).

Watch Amber Heard’s full domestic violence PSA below.

https://youtu.be/BwqAP9mICR0

[Featured Image by Jason Kempin/Getty Images]