Johnny Depp might not make Amber Heard pay $10.35 million
'This was never about money for him', his lawyer said.
Actor Johnny Depp was awarded $10.35 million in the defamation case against ex-wife Amber Heard, after the jury ruled in his favour. Now, Johnny's lawyer Benjamin Chew said that Amber may not have to pay the money after all. He added that for Johnny the trial was not about money
The Amber Heard versus Johnny Depp defamation trial went on for about six weeks in April-May 2022, and was held in Virginia, US. Johnny was awarded $10 million in compensatory damages and about $5 million in punitive damages. Amber, on the other hand, was awarded $2 million compensatory damages.
On Wednesday, Good Morning America host George Stephanopoulos asked Johnny's lawyer Benjamin Chew if Johnny would say yes to a settlement where Amber agrees not to appeal the case in exchange for "him waiving monetary damages," Benjamin hinted that that might happen.
He said, "We obviously can't disclose any attorney-client communications, but as Mr. Depp testified and as we both made clear in our respective closings, this was never about money for him," Benjamin said on the show. "This was about restoring his reputation, and he's done that."
The former couple battled in court over an article Amber wrote for The Washington Post in 2018, in which she described dealing with domestic abuse, without mentioning Johnny's name. Post the release of Amber's essay, Johnny sued his ex-wife for $50 million in damages.
Proceedings of the trial began in April 2022 and the verdict was out on June 1. The Jury found that Amber could not support her allegations against Johnny with any substantial proof, and thus noted that her claims of abuse were false when she published the article. However, the Jury also found that Johnny had on one occasion defamed amber, thus awarding her $2 million in compensatory damages.
