Johnny Depp Files Notice of Appeal After Amber Heard Files Her Own
Johnny Depp has filed a notice of appeal against Amber Heard, less than a day after she filed a motion to appeal the ruling from their defamation trial.
In June, after a headline-making six-week trial, a jury awarded Depp $10.4 million in damages after he sued Heard for $50 million over an op-ed she wrote for the Washington Post in 2018 where she described herself as “public figure representing domestic abuse.”
While the “Pirates of the Caribbean” star was not named in the article, his legal team argued in a complaint filed in 2019 that it was a “clear implication that Mr. Depp is a domestic abuser.” Depp — who was married to Heard from 2015 to 2017 — denied all allegations of abuse.
On Thursday, Heard filed a motion to appeal the ruling, and on Friday, Depp responded.
According to court documents obtained by NBC News, Depp filed a notice of appeal against his ex-wife in Fairfax County where the trial was held in Virginia in May.
“Plaintiff and Counterclaim-Defendant John C. Depp, II, by counsel, hereby appeals to the Court of Appeals of Virginia from all adverse rulings and from the final judgment order of this Circuit Court entered on June 24, 2022,” the four-page notice of appeal reads.
This comes a day after after a spokesperson for Heard explained to TODAY why they were appealing the verdict.
“We believe the court made errors that prevented a just and fair verdict consistent with the First Amendment. We are therefore appealing the verdict,” the statement said. “While we realize today’s filing will ignite the Twitter bonfires, there are steps we need to take to ensure both fairness and justice.”
As for Depp’s team, in a statement to TODAY, they stated that they remained “confident” in their case.
“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,” the spokesperson said. “We remain confident in our case and that this verdict will stand.”
While Depp was awarded $10.4 million, during their trial Heard’s legal team countersued for $100 million. The “Aquaman” actor’s team argued that Depp and his legal team launched a “smear campaign” against her and devalued her allegations of domestic abuse.
In a sit-down with Savannah Guthrie, Heard said that to her “dying day” she will stand by every word of her testimony. She also criticized the backlash she received on social media as the trial played out.
“Even somebody who is sure I’m deserving of all this hate and vitriol, even if you think that I’m lying, you still couldn’t tell me — look me in the eye and tell me — that you think on social media there’s been a fair representation,” Heard said. “You cannot tell me that you think that this has been fair.”
Following the trial, Depp headed to London and performed a couple of shows with English musician Jeff Beck. In late June, it was announced that Depp would be touring with the Hollywood Vampires in Germany and Luxembourg next summer. The band’s official Instagram shared the tour dates.