Brian Cox says he ‘feels sorry’ for Amber Heard over Johnny Depp trial
Earlier this year, Depp won his defamation trial against ex-wife Heard
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Brian Cox has said he “feels sorry” for Amber Heard in regards to her highly publicised defamation trial against ex-husband Johnny Depp.
The actor, who plays Logan Roy on Succession, spoke about the former couple briefly in a new interview.
Asked about Depp, who Cox said he regrets once calling “overrated”, the star told The Times that “the public love him”.
Responding to the interviewer’s suggestion that the jury for the trial also love Depp, Cox replied: “Well, they did.”
He continued: “I feel sorry for the woman [Heard]. I think she got the rough end of it.”
Earlier this year, Depp won his high-profile defamation case against ex-wife Heard.
Depp sued Heard for $50m (£39.8m) over a Washington Post op-ed titled: “I spoke up against sexual violence – and faced our culture’s wrath. That has to change.”
The article does not mention Depp by name, yet his lawyers said it falsely implies he physically and sexually abused Heard while they were together.
Heard countersued for $100m (£80.9m), accusing Depp of orchestrating a “smear campaign” against her and describing his lawsuit as a continuation of “abuse and harassment”.
In June, a jury found that Heard defamed Depp on all three counts and awarded him $10m (£8m) in compensatory damages and $5m (£4m) in punitive damages. Heard was awarded $2m (£1.6m) in compensatory damages, but no punitive damages.
During the trial, Heard testified about the death threats she and her baby were receiving from fans of the Pirates of the Caribbean star.
In her emotional testimony, Heard told jurors: “People want to kill me, and they tell me so every day. People want to kill my baby in the microwave, and they tell me that.”
Cox was in attendance at the Emmy awards ceremony on Monday night (12 September).
Hotly-tipped Emmys favourite Succession had a good night, winning Outstanding Drama Series at the very end of the night as well as a writing award for creator Jesse Armstrong and a supporting actor award for Matthew Macfadyen.
“Big week for successions,” Armstrong said on stage. “New King in the UK, this for us. Evidently a little bit more voting for us than Prince Charles. I’m not saying we’re more legitimate in our position than he is, we’ll leave that to other people...”
Armstrong’s words were met with uncomfortable sounds from the audience, with Cox chiming in with the advice: “Keep it royalist! Keep it royalist!”
You can read all the talking points from the awards ceremony here.