Johnny Depp appeals $2m defamation award jury handed Amber Heard

The actor’s filing comes a day after Amber Heard filed own appeal on the $10.35m verdict against her

Johnny Depp has appealed the $2m defamation award a jury in Virginia handed to his ex-wife Amber Heard at their trial last month.

The Hollywood star filed a notice of appeal on Friday in an attempt to overturn the decision, court records show.

The filing comes just a day after Ms Heard officially appealed the $10.35m verdict made against her in the high-profile defamation trial.

She wants the Virginia Court of Appeals to overturn the verdict returned in the case on 1 June, as well as the order made by Judge Penney Azcarate on 13 July in which she denied post-trial motions.

The defamation trial, which began on 11 April in Fairfax, Virginia, and made headlines for weeks as it was televised in full, stemmed from a complaint filed in March 2019 by Mr Depp against his ex-wife.

Mr Depp alleged that Ms Heard had defamed him in an op-ed published in The Washington Post, in which she described herself as “a public figure representing domestic abuse”. Ms Heard filed a counter-suit in November 2020, asking to be granted immunity against Mr Depp’s claims.

On 1 June, a jury overwhelmingly found in Mr Depp’s favor that Ms Heard had defamed Mr Depp in three statements. Jurors also found that an attorney for Mr Depp defamed Ms Heard in one of three statements highlighted in her counter-suit. Mr Depp was awarded $10.35m in damages, while Ms Heard was awarded $2m.

A spokesperson for Ms Heard said: “We believe the court made errors that prevented a just and fair verdict consistent with the First Amendment. 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.”

A spokesperson for Mr Depp said in a statement: “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. We remain confident in our case and that this verdict will stand.”