The six-week-long trial battle between Amber Heard and Johnny Depp reached its end as the Virginia Court announced its final decision.
On Wednesday, June 2, 2022, seven jury members unanimously decided that Amber Heard defamed Johnny Depp in her 2018 op-ed that she wrote in the Washington Post.
According to NBC, it was a ‘mixed verdict.’ However, the jury clearly favored the Pirates of the Caribbean star. Now, Amber Heard has to pay 10 million dollars to her ex-husband Johnny Depp in damages while he owes her a debt of 2 million dollars.
A day after the jury’s decision, i.e., On Thursday, June 3, 2022, Amber’s attorney, Elaina Bredehoft, spoke to the NBC. In her interview with the “Today Show,” she shared her sentiments about the verdict.
According to her, the jury’s decision was biased, and the members were ‘influenced’ by the social media trends and campaigns. She said that the internet played a huge role and not in a good way; the majority sided with Johnny Depp, as he is a bigger star and has greater influence, not just on the media but also on the public.
“How can you not? They 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.”
She said that due to these TikTok and Twitter trends, the courtroom didn’t feel like a serious place with its mandatory etiquette, but it was instead turned into a ‘zoo’ by Depp’s fans.
She further said that she was against the decision to televise a sensitive and high-profile case like this, but nobody listened to her.
“It’s like the Roman Colosseum, you know? How they viewed this whole case. 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. But it made it a zoo,”
Bredehoft further said that the verdict is not fair, and it sends a horrible message.
“It’s a horrible message; a significant setback because that’s exactly what it means. “Unless you pull out your phone and video your spouse or your significant other beating you, effectively, you won’t be believed.”
When asked if her star client Amber Heard could pay the huge penalty of 10 million dollars, she said, “oh no, absolutely not.”
She told the outlet that Amber Heard’s career had been severely affected by this trial, and she does not have that amount of money, and besides her not being in a position to pay this heavy amount, it’s not even fair. So, she will lodge an appeal against the jury’s decision in the court.
She said that the Aquaman star would not accept her defeat, “There was so much evidence left out of the trial, it is so unfair. So, she will appeal, and she has some excellent grounds for it.”
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