After a court in the United States ruled in favour of Johnny Depp in the defamation case against his ex-wife Amber Heard, the legal team of the actress has said there were attempts to “demonise” her via social media posts and memes. Depp was awarded $10.4 million in damages by a jury on Wednesday following a six-week trial. Speaking to Today, Heard’s lawyer Elaine Charlson Bredehoft said that the actress will “absolutely not” be able to pay that much in damages. Expressing her disappointment in the trial, Bredehoft said, “A number of things were allowed in this court that should not have been allowed, and it caused the jury to be confused.”
Johnny Depp had sued Amber Heard for $50 million after he claimed that her 2018 op-ed in the Washington Post hurt his career. Heard had only talked about her as being a survivor of domestic violence and never mentioned Depp’s name in the opinion piece.
The recent verdict in the US comes in contrast to the 2020 verdict by a UK court in which Depp lost a libel lawsuit against the Sun, a British tabloid, for calling him a “wife-beater.” In the 2020 case verdict, the judge had found Depp guilty of 12 accounts of violent incidents out of 14.
Bredehoft said, “It’s a horrible message. It’s a significant setback because that’s exactly what it means. Unless you pull out your phone and you video your spouse or your significant other beating you, effectively you won’t be believed.”
Heard had also shared her disappointment with the recent verdict. A statement issued by the Aquaman actress read, “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.”
— Amber Heard (@realamberheard) June 1, 2022
According to Bredehoft, the actress wants to appeal the verdict.
