Amber Heard’s Lawyer Says Actress Can’t Pay $10 Million Judgment To Johnny Depp

Topline

Amber Heard’s lawyer said Thursday the actress cannot afford to pay the roughly $10 million judgment she owes ex-husband Johnny Depp, after a Virginia court ruled Wednesday she defamed him in a 2018 op-ed she wrote about being a victim of domestic abuse.

Key Facts

Elaine Bredehoft told the Today show Heard intends to appeal the ruling, saying there was “there was so much evidence” left out of this trial compared to Depp’s 2020 defamation lawsuit against British tabloid The Sun—after the paper described him as a wife beater—which he lost.

The attorney said Heard’s medical records were suppressed, and she was not allowed to tell the jury the British court found Depp committed “at least 12 acts of domestic violence, including sexual violence,” against Heard.

Bredehoft also said the intense social media attention on the case, which seemed to largely favor Depp and often disparaged Heard, influenced the outcome of the trial greatly.

Bredehoft said she fought against having the trial broadcast, which she believes turned the courtroom into a “zoo.”

Crucial Quote

“[The jury] went home every night. They have families. The families are on social media. We had a 10-day break in the middle because of the judicial conference. There’s no way they couldn’t have been influenced by it,” Bredehoft said.

Tangent

Heard’s finances came up during the trial. Terence Dougherty, an executive representing the American Civil Liberties Union, which Heard was an ambassador for and helped her craft the op-ed, testified about a donation Heard pledged to the organization after she received a $7 million from her divorce from Depp. Heard promised $3.5 million to the ACLU, though only $1.3 million has been given to the organization so far. Heard and Depp each paid a portion of the donation, and the other payments came from two separate funds. Dougherty said he believed one of the funds was backed by Elon Musk, who Heard had a relationship with after she split from Depp. Heard paused her donations to the ACLU in 2019 because she was having “financial difficulties,” Dougherty said.

Key Background

Heard’s finances came up during the trial. Terence Dougherty, an executive representing the American Civil Liberties Union, which Heard was an ambassador for and helped her craft the op-ed, testified about a donation Heard pledged to the organization after she received a $7 million from her divorce from Depp. Heard promised $3.5 million to the ACLU, though only $1.3 million has been given to the organization so far. Heard and Depp each paid a portion of the donation, and the other payments came from two separate funds. Dougherty said he believed one of the funds was backed by Elon Musk, who Heard had a relationship with after she split from Depp. Heard paused her donations to the ACLU in 2019 because she was having “financial difficulties,” Dougherty said.

Further Reading

Jury Rules Amber Heard Defamed Johnny Depp In Domestic Abuse Op-Ed (Forbes)

Johnny Depp-Amber Heard Defamation Trial Handed Off To Jury (Forbes)

Musk Likely Paid Portion Of Amber Heard’s Pledged ACLU Donations, Exec Testifies (Forbes)