Celebrity
Johnny Depp Appeals Ruling To Pay Amber Heard $2M In Their Defamation Trial
American actor and musician, Johnny Depp has filed an appeal of the verdict that he is to pay $2 million to his ex-wife Amber Heard, 36, following their defamation trial.
The 59-year-old was ordered to pay his ex back in June after jurors in their highly publicized trial ruled with Heard on one of her three countersuit claims.
The count related to a statement made by one of Depp’s lawyers, Adam Waldman, claiming Heard and her friends had trashed their apartment and that she had lied about it.
“The judgment in Ms. Heard’s favor on that lone statement is erroneous,” Depp’s lawyers argued in the filing on Thursday according to excerpts shared by Law and Crime.
Heard and Depp were in court over statements Heard had made about the “Pirates of the Caribbean” actor, claiming he had abused her during their relationship.
Depp filed the defamation suit, saying that her claims in a Washington Post op-ed article had detrimentally impacted his career.
Heard did not name Depp publicly in the piece but given their status and notoriety, it was evident who she was referencing in regard to her history of being allegedly abused.
In the trial, Deep was awarded more than $10 million in damages by the jury, to be paid by Heard and her estate.
The brief also alleges that Heard and her representation’s arguments during the trial were “fatally flawed.”
Now, the actor says that because the jury “overwhelmingly” agreed with him on the other counts brought, he shouldn’t have to pay.
Depp’s filing Thursday in the Virginia Court of Appeals claims that Waldman’s statements did not correctly represent the actor’s own thoughts and beliefs and therefore he should not be held responsible for them.