Amber Heard has officially filed an appeal in the defamation case with her ex Johnny Depp. HollywoodLife has obtained the court documents filed by her legal team to the Virginia Court of Appeals in Fairfax County, Virginia on Thursday, July 13. The actress is seeking to appeal the jury’s verdict which found her guilty of damaging Johnny’s career after she wrote an op-ed about being a victim of domestic abuse.
“We believe the court made errors that prevented a just and fair verdict consistent with the First Amendment,” read a statement given to HollywoodLife from Amber’s spokesperson. “We are therefore appealing the verdict. While we realize today’s filing will ignite the Twitter bonfires, there are steps we need to take to ensure both fairness and justice.”
The Aquaman actress’ latest move comes after her efforts to have the case declared a mistrial were denied on Wednesday, July 13. Amber’s attorneys had filed for the trial to be thrown out, after they presented evidence that one of the jurors was not the person who was supposed to serve on the case. Judge Penney Azcarate responded, “The juror was vetted, sat for the entire jury, deliberated, and reached a verdict. The only evidence before this Court is that this juror and all jurors followed their oaths, the Court’s instructions, and orders. This Court is bound by the competent decision of the jury.”
Johnny was awarded $10 million in compensatory damages and $5 million in punitive damages after he said Amber damaged his career when she wrote an article for The Washington Post claiming she was the victim of domestic abuse. “The jury gave me my life back. I am truly humbled,” Johnny said in a statement after the verdict was read. “From the very beginning, the goal of bringing this case was to reveal the truth, regardless of the outcome.”
Although she was found guilty, Amber was awarded $2 million for her counterclaim, which held Johnny’s lawyer responsible for defamation in calling Amber a liar. Amber also released a statement after the verdict. “I’m even more disappointed with what this verdict means for other women,” she 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.”