Johnny Depp’s attorneys have hinted that the millions of dollars in damages owed to their client by his ex-wife, Amber Heard, could be waived, after her lawyer said that she couldn’t afford to pay.
Depp, 58, recently battled it out in court with Heard, 36, after filing a $50 million lawsuit against her over a 2018 op-ed for The Washington Post, in which she said that she was a domestic abuse survivor.
Following the six-week trial, the jury on June 1 awarded Depp $10 million in compensatory damages and $5 million in punitive damages. The judge adjusted the punitive damages to $350,000, as Virginia law limits punitive damages.
Heard, who had countersued for $100 million, was awarded $2 million by the jury, which found that Depp’s former attorney, Adam Waldman, had made defamatory comments about the Aquaman star.
Depp’s attorneys, Camille Vasquez and Ben Chew, sat down for an interview on Wednesday with Good Morning America’s George Stephanopoulos, who asked them about Heard’s lawyer, Elaine Bredehoft, sharing plans to appeal the verdict.
“[Heard] doesn’t have the money to pay for the judgment. And you all have said that the goal is not to impoverish Ms. Heard,” said Stephanopoulos. “Is it possible we could see a settlement where she forgoes the appeal in return for Mr. Depp waiving any monetary damages?”
“We obviously can’t disclose attorney-client communications,” Chew responded. “But, as Mr. Depp testified and as we both made clear in our respective closings, this was never about money for Mr. Depp. This was about restoring his reputation and he’s done that.”
“So you’re not disclosing any privileges, but it sounds like that’s something that could be on the table but it’s up to Ms. Heard?” Stephanopoulos pressed.
“Again, we have to be careful what we say,” Chew commented. “But this was about Mr. Depp’s reputation. That was what it was about for him.” (Newsweek)