Johnny Depp v Amber Heard trial news summary: Thursday 9 June 2022
Depp v Heard: the aftermath live
Depp v Heard verdict: headlines
- Johnny Depp celebrates 59th birthday on 9 June
- Depp's lawyer, Camille Vasquez, who rose to prominence during the trial has been promoted to the role of partner at the law firm Brown Rudnick
- Amber Heard’s sister speaks out about the verdict reach in the trial
- Amber Heard's lawyer says she has "excellent grounds" to appeal the jury's decision
- Depp awarded $10.35m in damages; Heard to receive $2m after winning on one count of defamation counter-suit
- Depp expected to return in Pirates of the Caribbean franchise as Captain Jack Sparrow
Read more about the case from AS USA:
It's also an unethical charge being made. It's sexist. It's unfortunate and it's disappointing, but at the same time it kind of comes with the territory. I can't say I was all that surprised.
I'm Cuban and Colombian. I'm tactile. What do you want me to say? I hug everyone. And I'm not ashamed about that.
AS USA's Will Gittins takes a look back at some of the more unusual moments in the Johnny Depp v Amber Heard defamation trial.
Vasquez scotches "sexist" Depp romance rumours
Lawyer Camille Vasquez has dismissed “sexist” speculation over romance between her and client Johnny Depp.
Speaking to People magazine, Vasquez said: “I guess it comes with the territory of being a woman just doing her job.
"It's disappointing that certain outlets kind of ran with it or said that my interactions with Johnny - who is a friend and I've known and represented for four-and-a-half years now - that my interactions in any way were inappropriate or unprofessional. That's disappointing to hear.
"I care very deeply about my clients, and we have obviously become close. But when I say we, I mean the entire team, and of course that includes Johnny," says Vasquez. "And, I'm Cuban and Colombian. I'm tactile. What do you want me to say? I hug everyone. And I'm not ashamed about that."
Vasquez added: “It's unfortunate and it's disappointing, but at the same time it kind of comes with the territory. I can't say I was all that surprised."
On his newly created TikTok account, Johnny Depp this week sent a “thank you” post to his fans for standing by him in his defamation suit against ex-wife Amber Heard.
What Depp v Heard means for #MeToo: recommended listening
In an episode of the New York Times podcast the Daily earlier this week, host Michael Barbaro spoke to Times reporter Julia Jacobs about what the Depp v Heard trial means for #MeToo.
Jacobs shared the view of Andrew Miltenberg, a lawyer whose firm defends people accused of sexual misconduct, that the outcome of the trial may encourage other other men to fight allegations of abuse by bringing defamation cases in front of a jury.
Depp v Heard is “a signal that a jury in a case like this could be willing to side with the accused, who has sued the accuser for defamation”, Jacobs was told.
Miltenberg “can see a world in which plaintiffs feel emboldened to bring these cases into the public, to try to find the redemption that Johnny Depp seems to have achieved”, Jacobs added.
Jacobs has also written a piece on the issue in the Times.
Depp and Jeff Beck release teaser for new album
Johnny Depp is currently playing a series of gigs with Jeff Beck and the due are due to release an album together. On Thursday, The first video to accompany the album, which is called 18, was released, with Depp singing lead on a song he wrote, This Is a Song for Miss Hedy Lamarr
Now that the dust has more or less settled on the defamation trial between Johnny Depp and Amber Heard, AS USA's Jeff May takes a look at what might await both actors, who are stars of the Pirates of the Caribbean and the Justice League and Aquaman franchises, respectively.
Camille Vasquez: "Of course I'll see Johnny again"
Camille Vasquez, one of Depp's legal team, was asked if she will see the Pirates of the Caribbean star again as she was leaving the studios of Good Morning America, and replied "of course!" adding that she is a fan of his music.
Amber Heard's sister Whitney Henriquez posted a message of support to the actor a few days after the trial. ‘I still stand with you, sissy. Yesterday, today and tomorrow I will always be proud of you for standing up for yourself, for testifying both here in Virginia and in the UK, and for being the voice of so many who can’t speak to the things that happen behind closed doors. We knew that this was going to be an uphill battle and that the cards were stacked against us. But you stood up and spoke out regardless.
Depp's lawyers deny trial victory is a setback for victims
During their appearance on Good Morning America Wednesday, George Stephanopoulos pointed out to the lawyers, "Victims' advocates have argued that the verdict is going to have a chilling effect on domestic-violence victims and it's a blow to the #MeToo movement."
"I think our response to that is that we encourage any victim to come forward. Domestic violence doesn't have a gender," Vasquez said.
"So you don't see this as a setback in any way, shape or form?" Stephanopoulos asked.
"We do not," said Vasquez. "We believe that the verdict speaks for itself; the facts are what they are. The jury made a unanimous decision based on those facts."
Read more on people.com
Last week, an attorney for the Amber Heard confirmed that she would be appealing the jury’s decision, saying that “she has some excellent grounds for it.” Although there had been talk as we awaited the jury’s verdict of a potential appeal if she lost, the general sense was that this would be difficult unless significant new evidence came into play.
Up stepped Elaine Charlson Bredehoft, speaking on NBC, to announce that the appeal would be going ahead stating that Depp’s team was “able to suppress an enormous amount of evidence” that was allowed in the libel case in Britain, which Depp lost.
Could Manson v Wood defamation case be Depp v Heard sequel?
In March 2022, shock rocker Marilyn Manson filed a defamation suit against ex-girlfriend and Westworld star Evan Rachel Wood. In 2016 Wood revealed to Rolling Stone that she was allegedly raped by a significant other, who she later named in 2021 as Brian Warner, a.k.a. Marilyn Manson.
With the defamation trial of Johnny Depp and Amber Heard concluded, some Pirate of the Carribean's fans are redirecting their social media attacks toward Wood. Unlike in the the case of Heard though, the Westworld star has repeatedly identified Manson as her abuser.
Depp lawyers give first post-trial interview
Lawyers Camille Vasquez and Ben Chew sat down with Good Morning America to give their first interview since the trial's verdict to discuss Depp’s reaction to the news and what has happened post-trial.
Memorabilia from Depp vs Heard defamation trial up for auction
One Kentucky man traveled to Fairfax, Virginia to witness the mutual defamation trial between Johnny Depp and Amber Heard. But he didn't just sit idlly there and watch, he also took notes. Now the highest bidder can read his musings and about what the cameras didn't catch. Bidding is at $14,000.
So what did Depp’s team learn from [the Sun libel case]? Demonize Amber, and suppress the evidence. They were able to suppress the medical records, which were very, very significant, because they showed a pattern going all the way back to 2012 of Amber reporting this to her therapist, for example. We had significant amount of texts, including from Mr. Depp’s assistant, saying ‘When I told him he kicked you, he cried, he is so sorry.’ That didn’t come in.
She was demonized here.
During the course of that trial one member of Depp’s legal team grew into something of a celebrity online with her sharp words to Heard and non-nonsense demeanour in court. Camille Vasquez was seen by many to be the crucial member of Depp’s team and she has been rewarded by being promoted to partner at law firm Brown Rudnick.
"To all of my most treasured, loyal and unwavering supporters. We’ve been everywhere together, we have seen everything together. We have walked the same road together. We did the right thing together, all because you cared. And now, we will all move forward together. You are, as always, my employers and once again I am whittled down to no way to say thank you, other than just by saying thank you. So, thank you. My love & respect, JD
Depp posted a “thank you” message to his “most treasured, loyal and unwavering supporters” on his recently created TikTok account. While the actor feels vindicated and will “move forward,” a spokesperson for the “heartbroken” Heard said that while “he’s ‘moving forward,’ women’s rights are moving backward.”
Hello and welcome to AS USA's coverage of the fallout from the defamation trial involving Johnny Depp and Amber Heard, after which the the court ordered Heard to pay $10.35 million in damages to the Pirates of the Caribbean star. There was also, though, a requirement on Depp to pay $2 million to his former wife for articles written by his publicist in The Daily Mail.