Amber Heard’s Attorney Says Social Media Swayed Jury
Following yesterday’s verdict in the Johnny Depp's defamation lawsuit against his ex-wife, Amber Heard, her attorney appeared on Today, revealing the actress will “absolutely” want to appeal the jury’s decision.
Attorney Elaine Bredehoft added, referring to Depp’s lost case in the UK against The Sun for calling him a “wife beater,” said, “She has some excellent grounds for it. She was demonized here. A number of things were allowed in this court that should not have been allowed, and it caused the jury to be confused. We weren’t allowed to tell them about the UK judgment.”
EXCLUSIVE: Amber Heard's attorney tells @savannahguthrie the actor "absolutely" plans to appeal. pic.twitter.com/DRGjNBqzdy
— TODAY (@TODAYshow) June 2, 2022
Heard was ordered to pay $10.35 million in damages to Depp ($10 million in compensatory damages and $350,000 in punitive damages — it was originally $15 million, but due to a Virginia law capping punitive damages, it was reduced to $10 million) after the jury ruled that she defamed Depp when she wrote her 2018 Washington Post op-ed alluding to her past claims of domestic violence. The jury also ruled that Depp defamed Heard in the course of fighting back against her charges with $2 million in compensatory damages.
Bredehoft also shared her belief that the criticism Heard received on social media during the course of the trial most likely impacted the jury. Social media was largely on Depp’s side, as evidenced by the viral TikTok trend in which users widely mocked Heard’s testimonies.
When asked if social media impacted the jury, Bredehoft replied, “Absolutely. Jurors [weren’t supposed to be looking at social media], but how can you not [be aware]? They went home every night. They have families. Their families are on social media. We had a 10-day break in the middle because of the judicial conference. There is no way they couldn’t have been influenced by it. It was horrible. It was really, really lopsided. I was against cameras in the courtroom and I went on record with that and argued against it because of the sensitive nature of this. It made it a zoo.”
EXCLUSIVE: @SavannahGuthrie talks to Amber Heard’s attorney, Elaine Charlson Bredhoft, following Johnny Depp's legal win. pic.twitter.com/i1EOlz1NcU
— TODAY (@TODAYshow) June 2, 2022
When asked whether her client would be able to pay the amount, Bredehoft said, “Oh, no, absolutely not.” So it looks like this story has not yet ended.
Johnny Depp and Amber Heard Defamation Trial Results: Twitter Reacts
