Amber Heard plans to appeal the verdict announced in Johnny Depp’s defamation case in Fairfax, Va, Wednesday, June 1.
Depp sued his ex-wife for $50 million for defamation over her op-ed she wrote which was published by The Washington Post in December 2018.
A jury awarded him $10 million in compensatory damages and $5 million in punitive damages, which the judge reduced to $350,000. The jury also found that Depp’s agent defamed her in a DailyMail article, and awarded her $2 million.
Heard owes Depp a total of $8,350,000. But her attorney says she can’t afford to pay it.
Attorney Elaine Charlson Bredehoft said Heard “absolutely” plans to appeal the verdict.
Bredehoft said that the actress “has some excellent grounds for [appeal].”
The lawyer also argued that Heard was “demonized” on social media by Depp’s fans and that there is “no way” that the jury was not influenced by the social media messages.
She said, even if the jury were kept offline, the discussion of the trial was everywhere.
Bredehoft said she was against cameras being in the courtroom because of the “sensitive nature” of the trial, and that the cameras in the courtroom “made it a zoo.”
Heard complained that Wednesday’s verdict sent “a horrible message,” that a victim has to be “perfect” to be believed.
Heard’s attorney also called the verdict a “major setback” for victims of domestic violence, particularly Black women.
She said, if the mistreatment of a wealthy blonde haired, blue-eyed white actress is ridiculed by the world, what does that mean for Black women?
