Amber Heard owes her ex-husband Johnny Depp $10.4 million in compensatory damages after losing in court on June 1. But according to Amber’s lawyer, the Aquaman actress, 36, cannot afford to pay up the significant cost to her former spouse. Elaine Charlson Bredehoft, who represented Amber throughout the defamation trial, confirmed that to Today‘s Savannah Guthrie during an interview on Thursday, June 2. “Oh no, absolutely not,” Elaine told Savannah, who asked if Amber is able to pay Johnny, 58, the $10.4 million in damages.
EXCLUSIVE: Amber Heard's attorney tells @savannahguthrie the actor is "absolutely not" able to pay the $10.4 million judgment to Johnny Depp. pic.twitter.com/I6BzkDXxJ8
— TODAY (@TODAYshow) June 2, 2022
In that same interview, Elaine revealed that Amber — who had defamed Johnny in a 2018 op-ed for The Washington Post, per the jury’s ruling — will “absolutely” try to appeal the verdict. “She has some excellent grounds for it,” the lawyer explained. “We even had tried to get the UK judgment in to dismiss his case because he already had his shot. That’s one of the issues. But also, there was so much evidence that did not come in.”
Furthermore, Elaine believes that the jury was influenced by the pro-Johnny social media spectacle and that affected their decision. “They went home every night, they have families,” she told Savannah. “The families are on social media. We had a ten-day break, there is no way they couldn’t have been influenced.”
The defamation trial concluded on Wednesday with Johnny being awarded $15 million in damages. Although she was found guilty of defaming the Pirates of the Caribbean star, Amber was awarded $2 million over a statement made by Johnny’s lawyer Adam Waldman that was deemed defamatory against her. After the verdict was read, Amber released a statement, saying she was “heartbroken” over the decision. “I’m even more disappointed with what this verdict means for other women,” she also said. “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.”
Johnny and Amber’s trial lasted for weeks and garnered national attention. Johnny’s lawyers, which included attorney Camille Vasquez, made the case that it was actually Johnny, not Amber, who was the victim of abuse. The Oscar nominee had sued his ex-wife for $50 million, and she countersued for $100 million. The trial took place in Fairfax County, Virginia.