Can Amber Heard afford to pay Johnny Depp after the trial? Will she appeal?
The defamation trial between Johnny Depp and Amber Heard has wrapped up. Will both sides be able to comply with their court mandated payments?
The jury in the defamation case brought by Johnny Depp against Amber Heard for an opinion piece she published in The Washington Post has ended. The court has ordered Amber Heard to pay $10.35 million in damages while also requiring Depp to pay $2 million to Heard for articles written by his publicist in The Daily Mail.
In response to questions from the media over whether Heard is in a position to make these payments to Depp, her attorney, Elaine Charlson Bredehoft, answered, “Oh, no. Absolutely not.”
Related: Amber Heard’s sister breaks silence over Depp verdict
These comments were made during an interview with The Today Show. Bredehoft also reported that Heard plans to appeal the ruling but did not speak about her financial options if she is obligated to make payments in the meantime.
While Head has starred in some major motion pictures, including Aquaman, estimations of her network tend to stand between $2 and $12 million.
Can Amber Heard appeal the decision?
As of 1 January 2022, plaintiffs who lose a civil case are allowed to appeal in Virginia, meaning that Depp and Heard may return to our screens and newsfeeds sooner than expected. For those who have been highly critical of the trial and its sensationalized nature, there is little hope that a round two would allow for a greater and more nuanced national conversation on issues related to domestic abuse.
Worth a read: Amber Heard’s “excellent grounds” for appeal
Bredehoft mentioned in her interview on Today that in a similar case tried in the United Kingdom, the courts allowed for significantly more evidence that could, she says, could have shown a pattern of abuse. In this case, we all witnessed much of this evidence was suppressed. Should Amber appeal the verdict it seems that her legal team would like to fight to get more of this evidence, including medical records which detail Amber therapy sessons where she spoke about the abuse starting in 2012.
While jurors were not supposed to research or speak about the case, Bredehoft believes that it is impossible that they were not influenced by the active role social media played in spreading narratives about Amber Heard. It has been widely recognized that content on social media tended to favor Johnny Depp. Almsot two million people were streaming the verdict live, showing just how captivated the nation has been by this trial.
When asked if she would appeal, Bredehoft said “Absolutely, and she has some excellent grounds for it.”