Yesterday, the jury in the Johnny Depp/Amber Heard defamation trial voted in favor of Depp, whom Heard alleges abused her during their marriage. Depp was awarded $10 million in compensatory damages and $5 million in punitive damages in his defamation suit, while Heard will receive $2 million in compensatory damages. Although the jury found Heard guilty of defamation, the actress isn’t giving up the fight.
Speaking to Savannah Guthrie on Today per Deadline, Heard’s attorney Elaine Bredehoft said that the actress “absolutely” wants to appeal the jury’s decision. The jury was not sequestered throughout the trial, although they were strongly encouraged not to read news about the trial or go on social media.
“She has some excellent grounds for it,” Bredehoft said of an appeal. “She was demonized here. A number of things were allowed in this court that should not have been allowed, and it caused the jury to be confused.” In the United Kingdom in 2020, the court ruled against Depp after he sought a judgment against the publication The Sun because it referred to him as a “wife-beater.” When asked if Heard can afford to pay Depp the millions of dollars in damages Bredehoft said, “Oh no. Absolutely not.”
Following the verdict, Heard posted a statement on social media. “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.
Bredehoft suggests that the jury’s accessibility influenced their decision in favor of Depp. “They went home every night. They have families. The families are on social media,” she said. “We had a 10-day break in the middle because of a Judicial Conference. There’s no way they couldn’t have been influenced by it, and it was horrible. It really, really was lopsided. …It was like the Roman Colosseum, how they view this whole case.”
(Via Deadline)