Amber Heard Talks About Domestic Violence in Emotional PSA

Speaking up and speaking out. Amber Heard got emotional in a #GirlGaze Project PSA about domestic violence shared Friday, November 25, more than three months after she reached a settlement in her divorce from Johnny Depp.

In the two-minute clip, the 30-year-old actress stares directly into the camera as she reenacts the inner dialogue that often plagues victims of domestic abuse.

“How is this happening to me? I’m strong. I’m smart. I’m not a victim,” the Danish Girl actress says. “There is a lot of shame attached to that label of victim. It happens to so many women. When it happens to you behind closed doors, with someone you love, it’s not that straightforward. If a stranger did this … it would be a no-brainer.”

Amber Heard and Johnny Depp attend The Art of Elysium 2016 HEAVEN Gala presented by Vivienne Westwood & Andreas Kronthaler at 3LABS on Jan. 9, 2016, in Culver City, CA. Alison Buck/Getty Images

Heard’s eyes got watery as she recalled the support system of women she was so fortunate to have when she herself filed for a domestic-violence restraining order against Depp, 53, that she later withdrew.

“If I hadn’t had a few people that I really trust around me, a few women … if I didn’t have them around me, how different my life would’ve been,” she said.

The actress then implored viewers to take the plight of awareness seriously, noting that “violence against women is not limited to actual, physical violence.”

“It is also about how we deal with it and how we talk about it in the media culture,” she said. “We need to take responsibility for how we talk about these things.”

Most important, Heard said, she wants women to remember that “your voice is the most powerful thing.”

The actress first filed for divorce from the Pirates of the Caribbean actor in May amid claims that he was verbally and physically abusive throughout their four-year relationship.

After months of ugly accusations and back-and-forth, the former couple settled their divorce in August, with Depp agreeing to pay his ex approximately $7 million.