Amber Heard To Appeal Verdict In Johnny Depp Defamation Case
Gregory Robinson
Featured Image Credit: Alamy
Amber Heard will reportedly appeal the verdict in the defamation case her ex-husband Johnny Depp won.
The jury announced at the Fairfax County Courthouse on Wednesday that Depp had won the defamation case against Heard over her 2018 Washington Post op-ed.
However, a spokesperson for the actor told The New York Times that the Aquaman star plans to appeal the verdict.
Depp has been awarded $15 million in damages - $10m in compensatory damages and $5m in punitive damages.
Advert
However, Judge Penney Azcarate reduced the punitive damages to meet Virginia's statutory cap of $350,000.
When the verdict was read aloud in court, the foreperson of the jury ran through the questions, answering 'yes' to each one. These questions included whether Heard 'acted with malice', whether statements about the marriage were 'false' and whether the op-ed referenced her relationship with Depp.
While the jury ruled that Heard's defamation claims against Depp were not fully proven, they did however award her $2 million in compensatory damages for one of three of her counterclaims against her ex husband.
Following the verdict, Heard released a statement on Instagram and Twitter in which she said she feels 'heartbroken' by the ruling.
"The disappointment I feel today is beyond words," Heard said in her statement. "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."
"It sets back the clock to a time when a woman who spoke up and spoke up could be publicly shamed and humiliated. It sets back the idea that violence against women should be taken seriously."
"I believe Johnny's attorneys succeeded in getting the jury to overlook the key issue of Freedom of Speech and ignore evidence that was so conclusive that we won in the UK."
In 2020, Depp sued The Sun newspaper and its parent company after it published an article referring to him as a 'wife beater'. He lost the case and was unable to appeal the verdict.
"I'm sad I lost the case," Heard continued. "But I am sadder still that I seemed to have lost a right I thought I had as an American — to speak freely and openly."