Amber Heard is disappointed with the verdict. Image Source: Marca
The verdict of the infamous defamation trial between actor Johnny Depp and ex-wife Amber Heard was announced on Wednesday. Johnny Depp won as the jury felt that he was able to prove that the op-ed written by Amber Heard back in 2018 defamed him and his reputation. Amber Heard did win on one of the three defamation counts and was awarded with $2M as compensatory damages but no punitive damages.
Amber Heard released a statement after the verdict was announced that she was disappointed and heartbroken with the verdict and added that it was going to be a setback for the women who dared to speak up. The actress also slammed the jury and Johnny Depp's lawyers, stating that with a mountain of evidence her team provided to the court, her ex-husband's team was able to pursue the jury into not believing them.
According to reports, Amber Heard’s lawyer, Elaine Bredehoft, mentioned during an interview with the Today show and the CBS Morning that Amber Heard’s legal battle with Johnny Depp is not over yet and she is definitely going to appeal her loss and added that Amber Heard has some excellent grounds for it. She started by stating that Amber Heard wants to apologize to all the women out there and said that the decision is a setback for all the women in and outside the courtroom and she feels the burden of that.
Elaine Bredehoft went on to argue that what transpired in Virginia's Fairfax County Court is a story of two trials, because Johnny Depp filed a lawsuit in the United Kingdom for the identical matter. In 2020, Johnny Depp filed a lawsuit against The Sun for labeling him a "wife-beater" in one of its headlines. The burden of evidence was lower for him in the United Kingdom since The Sun had to establish that it was accurate, and the court in the United Kingdom had ruled it to be factual, according to the attorney.
Elaine said that Amber Heard’s team in Virginia was not allowed to tell the jury that they had won the case in the U.K. and the court had found that Johnny Depp had at least 12 instances of domestic abuse were committed against the actress, including sexual violence. As a result, she went on to say that Johnny Depp's staff chose to malign Amber Heard and bury the facts.
Elaine Bredehoft revealed that several pieces of evidence were not produced in court, and they had previously attempted to have the lawsuit dismissed in the United Kingdom because, according to Elaine Bredehoft, Johnny Depp had already been offered the role. Elaine Bredehoft also claimed that Amber Heard is unable to pay Johnny Depp the $10.35 million ($8.35 M) owed to him. Instead, she explained how they believe the strong sentiments of Amber Heard and Johnny Depp followers influenced jurors' decisions.
The council indicated that the jurors had families, were on social media, and had a 10-day break in the middle due to the judicial meeting. She said that it's not possible that the jurors were not impacted by it and it was a disaster. It was unbalanced and everyone saw this case as if it were the Roman Coliseum. Elaine stated that she has always been opposed to cameras in the courtroom and has gone on record to advocate against it due to the sensitivity of the matter. But it turned it into a zoo.
Elaine Bredehoft also contended that the ruling would carry the message that no matter what an abuse victim does, they must always do more. It's a dreadful message. During the interview, she stated that the ruling is a huge setback since it practically implies that unless you take out your phone and record your husband or significant other abusing you, you will not be believed.
One of the interesting things that happened during the interview with CBS Morning was co-host Nate Burleson's take on Elaine Bredehoft's reaction to the verdict and he explained it to her by sharing an anecdote from his career and life. He shared that he is a former NFL player, and it's easy to wake up and point to the other side after a tough loss. But Nate added that after a while he learned that looking in the mirror was the superior option. What were the blunders did he do as a player? What were the blunders made by their coaching staff? Then there's the question of how we might develop from there. What he meant to say was instead of pointing fingers at others, Amber Heard's team should look into their way of approaching towards the case to which she replied that no one is perfect but mainly was the social media that made the case slip away from their hands along with Johnny Depp's celebrity status.
Elaine Bredehoft said on record that Amber Heard does not have the money to pay the damage amount and a lot of people have questions about what happens if the actress fails to pay the amount. To answer all the queries, Emily D. Baker, who is a legal analyst, spoke to People regarding the same and said that it’s up to the parties, but once the judgment is entered on June 24th, the attorneys will start negotiating the payment.
Emily added that Johnny Depp was never seeking the trial for the sake of money and his attorney, Benjamin Chew, has always mentioned the same, along with stating it out loud during the closing argument so they could settle it and the audience might see a PR statement stating that they are not seeking to enforce the judgment. But if they do want to enforce the judgment, there is a whole separate process in court for it, which includes attaching property and setting up ways to be paid. According to Emily, Johnny Depp is more interested in her not repeating these allegations and added that getting the judgment is a different thing and getting the money is a whole separate thing.
So we all have to wait a little more to see how things proceed for the actors now.
