Johnny Depp Might Spare Amber Heard From Financial Ruin
Johnny Depp’s lawyers — Camille Vasquez and Benjamin Chew — say the actor might generously waive the $10 million in damages that a jury ordered Amber Heard to pay him. During a recent interview, the lawyers agreed that the trial was “never about money,” just days after the Aquaman actress's lawyer admitted that she “absolutely” did not have the cash to pay her ex-husband.
In one of their first TV interviews since the conclusion of the bombshell defamation trial last week, Vasquez and Chew appeared on Good Morning America to discuss the verdict with George Stephanopoulos.
When the conversation turned toward the $10 million judgment against heard, Stephanopoulos noted that the actress may not have the means to pay for the eight-figure penalty. The host questioned the lawyers, asking if Depp's would be willing to let her off the hook for the bill.
“You have said that the goal was not to impoverish Ms. Heard; is it possible that we could see a settlement where she foregoes the appeal in return for Mr. Depp waving any monetary damages?” the host asked the lawyers, to which Mr. Chew responded: “This was about restoring his reputation, and he has done that.”
“So you’re not disclosing any privileges, but it sounds like that’s something that could be on the table, but it’s up to Ms. Heard?” Stephanopoulos followed up.
“We have to be careful what we say, but this was about Mr. Depp’s reputation; that’s what it was about for him,” Mr. Chew said, adding that the Pirates of the Caribbean star was “over the moon” when he was told about the verdict.
He continued: “It was like the weight of the world had been taken off his shoulders, and I feel that finally, after six years, he’s gotten his life back.”
Heard’s attorney, Elaine Bredehoft, sat down for an interview with Savannah Guthrie of NBC’s Today show last week, where she denied that her client could pay the judgment and accused Depp’s legal team of “demonizing” the actress.
“Is she able to pay a 10.4-million-dollar judgment,” Guthrie asked, to which Bredehoft shook her head and responded: “Oh no, absolutely not.”
A jury found that the actress defamed her ex-husband and awarded him $10 million in compensatory damages, and $5 million in punitive damages. The judge presiding over the case reduced the punitive damages to $350,000.
Source: Independent, Dailymail
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