Johnny Depp’s attorneys don’t consider the actor’s win in his defamation trial against ex-wife Amber Heard to be a setback for the #MeToo movement, and don’t expect an appeal against the verdict to be successful, they said in new interviews Wednesday.
A seven-person jury last week awarded Depp $15 million, which was reduced to $10.35 million due to a cap on punitive damages in Virginia, where the trial occurred.
Depp, 58, had sued Heard, 36, for $50 million, claiming he was defamed by a 2018 op-ed in which Heard described herself as “a public figure representing domestic abuse.” Heard didn’t name Depp in the piece but previously accused him of domestic violence, which he denies.
Asked on ABC’s “Good Morning America” if they consider the verdict a blow to the #MeToo movement, Depp attorney Camille Vasquez said they don’t, and encouraged victims to come forward.
“We believe that the verdict speaks for itself,” Vasquez said Wednesday. “The facts are what they were. The jury made a unanimous decision based on those facts.”
Vasquez and fellow Depp attorney Benjamin Chew also appeared Wednesday on NBC’s “Today” show, where they said they don’t believe the attention the case garnered on social media influenced the jury.
“I don’t think there’s any reason to believe that the jurors violated their oath,” Chew said.
Their appearances came six days after Heard attorney Elaine Bredehoft contended on “Today” that the jurors were likely aware of the social media attention on the six-week trial. Bredehoft also said during that interview that Heard wants to appeal the verdict.
Chew said Wednesday on the “Today” show, “We feel very confident that there are no errors that would justify any kind of successful appeal.”
Heard was awarded $2 million in a $100 million counterclaim she filed over comments made by Depp attorney Adam Waldman that painted her abuse allegations as a hoax.
A spokesman for Heard released a statement in response to Chew and Vasquez appearing on the morning shows Wednesday.
“It is as unseemly as it is unprofessional that Johnny Depp’s legal team has chosen to do a victory lap for setting back decades of how women can be treated in the courtroom,” the statement says. “What’s next? A movie deal and merchandising?”
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