Image source: Getty/Matt Roberts
The defamation trial of Johnny Depp and Amber Heard came to a verdict on June 1 in which a seven-person jury in Virginia’s Fairfax County Circuit Court found the latter liable on three counts of defamation against Depp and Depp on one count of defamation against Heard. time Approved. The jury awarded Depp $10 million in compensatory damages and $5 million in punitive damages, and Heard $2 million in compensatory damages.
Now, about half a year later, it is Los Angeles Times reports that Heard is appealing the court’s decision. According to the outlet, Heard’s attorneys allege there were “numerous errors made in the trial,” including “hearing the case in Virginia and refusing to allow communications between Heard and certain doctors in evidence.”
Heard filed her appeal with the Virginia Circuit Court of Appeals on November 23, and in it her legal team contends that California is the only appropriate place for the defamation trial. The appeal said Virginia was a “completely uncomfortable forum” with “both parties and most of the factual witnesses … in California, none of them in Virginia,” according to the LA Times. Other allegations in the appeal include that Depp’s team allegedly failed to prove “actual malice” in the case.
Depp and Heard both filed initial appeal papers a month after their trial concluded. Depp has appealed Heard’s $2 million in damages. Weekly entertainment reported on Nov. 3, with his lawyers calling the decision “flawed” and urging it be overturned. According to the LA Times, the next course of action is for Depp and Heard’s case to go to a three-judge appeals court for further decision.
Amber Heard and Johnny Depp issued statements after their defamation trial
Minutes after the jury returned verdicts in the trial of Depp and Heard in June, the latter released a statement on Instagram. “The disappointment I feel today is beyond words,” Heard wrote in her Notes app. “I am heartbroken that the mountain of evidence was still insufficient to withstand my ex-husband’s disproportionate power, influence and influence… I am saddened to have lost this case. But I’m even sadder. I seem to have lost a right I thought I had as an American — to speak freely and openly.”
Depp also shared a statement via Instagram after the verdict. “Six years ago my life, the lives of my children, the lives of the people closest to me, and also the lives of the people who have supported and believed in me for many, many years, changed forever.” he wrote in a post. “…False, very serious and criminal allegations were leveled against me through the media, unleashing an endless barrage of hateful content, although no charges were brought against me… Six years later, the jury gave me my life back. I’m really humble.”
Amber Heard gave her first interview about the defamation trial days after the verdict
On June 13, Heard gave her first interview since the verdict, speaking with NBC News’ Savannah Guthrie. “I don’t care what anyone thinks of me or what judgments you want to make about what happened in the privacy of my own home, in my marriage, behind closed doors. I don’t think the average person should know these things,” she said in a clip from the interview that aired June 14-15. “But even someone who’s sure I deserve all this hate and spite, even if you think I’m lying, you still couldn’t look me in the eye and tell me you think it’s in.” gave a fair representation to social media. You can’t tell me you think this was fair.”
Of the jury’s verdict, Heard said, “I don’t blame them. I actually understand. He’s a beloved character and people feel like they know him. He’s a fantastic actor.”
What happened during Amber Heard and Johnny Depp’s defamation trial?
The highly publicized trial of Depp and Heard began on April 12 2018 Washington Post Opinion She wrote describing herself as “a public figure who portrays domestic violence.” Heard later countered with a $100 million lawsuit against the Pirates of the Caribbean star for allegedly damaging her career. The counterclaim came after she claimed Depp’s lawyer called her allegations against the actor a hoax.
As the civil trial progressed, testimonies from Depp and Heard revealed details about the ex-couple’s short-lived marriage, which lasted less than two years – including stark allegations of physical and sexual abuse, as well as alleged aggression from both parties. Part of determining who was liable to the other was determining whose words were true and therefore not defamatory.
If you are experiencing domestic violence in the United States and need help, you can contact TheHotline.org to chat with someone or call 1-800-799-SAFE (7233).