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Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
Entertainment
Connie Rusk

Amber Heard's lawyer says actress can 'absolutely not' pay Johnny Depp £8.2m after verdict

Amber Heard can't afford the £8.2million in damages she owes to ex-husband Johhny Depp, says her lawyer.

Elaine Bredehoft spoke for the first time since the jury returned their verdict, awarding the actor, 58, damages of $10million (£8million) and a further $5million (£4million) in punitive damages on Wednesday.

Amber, 36, will only have to pay $10.35 million due to a Virginia law capping punitive damages.

But the lawyer, who represented the actress in the trial, said Amber would "absolutely not" be able to pay the amount.

Bredehoft went on to say she felt cameras in the courtroom made it a "zoo" and the case felt like the "Roman Colosseum".

She said: "I was against cameras in the courtroom and I went on record with that, and had argued against it because of the sensitive nature of this [case]. But it made it a zoo."

Amber Heard can't afford the £8.2million in damages she owes to ex-husband Johhny Depp, says her lawyer (NBC news)

Amber's barrister also spoke about the social media response and claimed there was "no way jurors couldn't have been influenced by it".

She said: "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."

"And it was horrible - it really, really was lopsided. It was like the Roman Colosseum, how they viewed this whole case."

Mirror Online has contacted Johnny's representatives for comment.

Johnny sued the Aquaman star for $50million over her Washington Post op-ed titled: !I spoke up against sexual violence - and faced our culture’s wrath. That has to change."

Elaine Bredehoft spoke for the first time since the jury returned their verdict, awarding the actor, 58, damages (REUTERS)

The article does not mention him by name, yet his lawyers said it falsely implied he physically and sexually abused Amber while they were together.

Following six weeks of evidence and roughly 13 hours of deliberation, jurors returned a verdict in favour of the actor on Wednesday.

Amber was awarded $2million (£1.6 million) in damages after her counterclaim against Mr Depp over comments made by his lawyer Adam Waldman, who allegedly referred to her abuse claims as a "hoax", was also found to be defamatory.

The lawyer, who represented the actress, 36, in the trial said Amber would "absolutely not" be able to pay the amount (NBC news)

Following the verdict, the actress said she was "heartbroken" but "even even more disappointed with what this verdict means for other women".

"The disappointment I feel today is beyond words," she said in a statement, which was shared on social media.

"I’m heartbroken that the mountain of evidence still was not enough to stand up to the disproportionate power, influence, and sway of my ex-husband.

"I’m even more disappointed with what this verdict means for other women."

Johnny thanked jurors following his win for "giving me my life back" (POOL/AFP via Getty Images)

Amber said the verdict "sets back the clock to a time when a woman who spoke up and spoke out could be publicly shamed and humiliated".

She added Johnny's attorneys had succeeded in getting jury members to "overlook" freedom of speech.

"I’m sad I lost this case. But I am sadder still that I seem to have lost a right I thought I had as an American – to speak freely and openly," she said.

Mr Depp had consistently denied the "outrageous, outlandish" claims of abuse and said he had "spoken up for what I have been carrying on my back reluctantly for six years" during his own evidence.

He thanked jurors following his win for "giving me my life back".

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