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- A Fairfax, Virginia court ruled in favor of Johnny Depp in his defamation lawsuit against Amber Heard.
- The court ordered Heard to her ex-husband $15 million in damages.
- Her lawyer, though, says she cannot afford to pay.
Speaking on The Today Show following this week’s verdict that rules Amber Heard defamed her ex-husband Johnny Depp, Heard’s lawyer said that the actress “absolutely” cannot afford to pay the court-ordered damages.
Amber Heard’s lawyer says she cannot afford to pay the court-ordered damages to Johnny Depp
When asked by “Today” host Savannah Guthrie if Heard would be able to afford the $10 million in damages that’s she’s being ordered to pay, Bredehoft answered bluntly, “Oh no. Absolutely not.”
The jury awarded Depp $10 million in compensatory damages, plus $5 million in punitive damages — which Judge Penney Azcarate reduced to $350,000 in accordance with the state’s statutory cap. That brings the total to $10.35 million. The jury also ruled that Depp defamed Heard, through his attorney, while fighting back against her charges. Heard has been awarded to $2 million in compensatory damages for her counterclaim. [via Variety]
Depp’s suit against his ex-wife began in March of 2019, with Depp claiming that Heard defamed him in a 2018 Washington Post op-ed. On Wednesday, June 1, a Fairfax County Courthouse in Virginia ultimately ruled in Depp’s favor.
In a statement, the 58-year-old actor said that the jury has “given him his life back.” Heard, on the other hand, said that she was “heartbroken” by the court’s decision in her official statement.
Now that Johnny Depp has more or less been exonerated in the public eye, it’ll be fascinating to see if he can reignite his formerly A-list leading-man career. Personally, I think Depp will bag an Oscar within the next half-decade: Hollywood *loves* a comeback story, especially when it’s one of their own.
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