A spokeswoman for Amber Heard said the “Aquaman” actress plans to appeal the verdict in a highly-publicized defamation case with actor Johnny Depp, Heard’s ex-husband.
A jury on Wednesday found that Heard defamed Depp in an op-ed about domestic violence published in The Washington Post in 2018, awarding Depp a total of $15 million. Heard was awarded $2 million over statements Depp lawyer Adam Waldman wrote about Heard allegedly intentionally messing up her apartment to stage a hoax against Depp. Due to Virginia law, the judge reduced Depp’s award to $10.35 million.
Heard spokeswoman Alafair Hall “said the actress plans to appeal the decision,” a New York Times report said.
In a lengthy statement posted on social media, Heard slammed the verdict as a setback for women.
“The disappointment I feel today is beyond words,” she wrote in a statement posted on her Twitter. “I’m heartbroken that the mounting 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,” the actress continued. “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.”
Heard closed the post by suggesting her First Amendment rights were violated, though the actress notably countersued Depp for defamation, and for double the money.
“I’m sad I lost this case,” she wrote. “But I am sadder still that I seem to have lost a right I thought I had as an American – to speak freely and openly.”
— Amber Heard (@realamberheard) June 1, 2022
Depp thanked the jury for giving him his “life back,” and slammed media outlets for peddling untruths about him.
“Six years later, the jury gave me my life back,” the actor posted to Instagram. “I am truly humbled.”
“False, very serious and criminal allegations were levied at me via the media, which triggered an endless barrage of hateful content, although no charges were ever brought against me,” Depp said. “It had already traveled around the world twice within a nanosecond and it had a seismic impact on my life and my career.”
The actor added that he pursued the case in the first place to “reveal the truth.”
During the six-week trial, Heard detailed serious allegations of abuse at the hands of Depp, including a rape with a possibly broken Maker’s Mark bottle.
Depp and his legal team denied all allegations and told the jury that Heard perpetrated a #MeToo hoax to take from Depp, and also to punish him for leaving her.