- Heard’s legal team submitted paperwork to the Virginia Court of Appeals.
- She was ordered to pay $10.35 million in damages for slandering Depp in an op-ed for The Washington Post.
- Heard said she felt like she had been “publicly shamed and humiliated”.
Amber Heard has filed an appeal against the outcome of her defamation trial against ex-husband Johnny Depp.
On Thursday, July 21, Heard’s legal team submitted paperwork to the Virginia Court of Appeals, asserting that mistakes made during the trial prevented the delivery of a “just and fair verdict consistent with the First Amendment.”
After it was determined that Heard had slandered Depp in a 2018 op-ed for The Washington Post, she was forced to pay $10.35 million in damages in June.
Heard said the decision had “back the clock back to a time when a woman who spoke out and spoke out could be publicly shamed and humiliated,” and she would be appealing it right away.
The protracted trial generated a lot of media speculation, and millions of people watched court sessions live streamed. As a result, Heard received a lot of hate mail.
According to Heard’s representative, the actor expected to “ignite the Twitter bonfires” by submitting the appeal.
However, they added: “There are steps we need to take to ensure both fairness and justice.”
In 2019, Depp filed a defamation lawsuit, saying Heard’s allegations of abuse were a “elaborate hoax” that had harmed his reputation and cost him his career. Heard sued Depp on her own behalf, requesting $100 million in compensation.
Depp was accused of sexually abusing Heard during the acrimonious trial in Virginia’s Fairfax County Circuit Court and of texting a friend to express his desire that “Amber Heard’s rotting corpse was decomposing” there.
Depp asserted that he would “never strike a woman,” and he disputed the sexual assault allegation. He also denied punching Heard.
[embedpost slug=”/twitter-users-react-to-amber-heards-latest-legal-move/”]
A jury concluded that Heard intentionally vilified Depp. Heard was given $2 million after the court upheld one of her accusations that Depp’s attorney had called her allegations of abuse a “hoax.”
After the ruling in June, Heard said in a statement: “The disappointment I feel today is beyond words. I’m heartbroken that the mountain of evidence still was not enough to stand up to the disproportionate power, influence, and sway of my ex-husband.
“I’m even more disappointed with what this verdict means for other women. It is a setback. It sets back the clock to a time when a woman who spoke up and spoke out could be publicly shamed and humiliated. It sets back the idea that violence against women is to be taken seriously.”
A spokesperson for Depp said in a statement on the appeal: “The jury listened to the extensive evidence presented during the six-week trial and came to a clear and unanimous verdict that the defendant herself defamed Mr Depp in multiple instances.
[embedpost slug=”/selena-gomez-turns-30-today/”]
“We remain confident in our case and that this verdict will stand.”
