Amber Heard appeal – latest: No settlement as actor hints at Johnny Depp ruling challenge

Actors will decide whether to drag their legal battle further or settle

Savannah Guthrie grills Amber Heard over audio 'taunting' Johnny Depp

Judge Penney Azcarate on Friday (24 June) filed a judgement order reflecting the verdict previously reached in the Johnny Depp v Amber Heard trial.

On 1 June, a Virginia jury ruled Ms Heard defamed former husband Mr Depp, bringing to an end a widely watched six-week trial.

It also ruled in favour of Ms Heard in some aspects of her countersuit against Mr Depp. The jury awarded Mr Depp $15m in damages after finding that he proved all three claims against Ms Heard. The amount was reduced to $10.35m because of limits set by state law.

The actors weren’t required to be present in the courtroom for the hearing, which begin at 11am ET on Friday and wrapped up in about an hour.

Key points

• Johnny Depp and Amber Heard lawyers to meet in court in last bid to settle case
• Depp’s lawyers said they’d drop damages against Heard if she stops appeal
• What attorneys say about Heard’s options to appeal verdict

[25 June 2022 14:00 · Clemence Michallon]

Amber Heard discusses ‘barricades’ and ‘protected entrance’ she used to enter courthouse

Amber Heard has opened up about the protective measures that were implemented for her during the recent defamation trial against ex-husband Johnny Depp.

The Aquaman star sat down with NBC News’ Savannah Guthrie for an interview and recounted her experience.

“Every single day I passed city blocks lined with people holding signs saying things that I couldn’t repeat on television,” she explained.

[25 June 2022 13:00 · Clemence Michallon]

Johnny Depp and Amber Heard: A timeline of their relationship, allegations, and court battles

The trial in Johnny Depp’s defamation lawsuit against Amber Heard drew to a close with a civil jury handing an overwhelming victory to Johnny Depp.

After a six-week trial in Fairfax, Virginia, the jury returned a verdict on 1 June after deliberabating for around two-and-a-half days.

Here is a timeline of Johnny Depp and Amber Heard’s relationship, separation, and court battles, from when they are said to have started dating to the latest trial:

[25 June 2022 12:00 · Clemence Michallon]

How Johnny Depp’s fandom turned its focus to his lawyer

In the weeks after the trial began, Camille Vasquez became one of the best-known figures among followers of the case. Depp’s fans turned to her the online attention usually reserved to actors and singers.

There have been celebratory tweets and Instagram fan accounts. While the trial was ongoing, Depp supporters were known to wait outside the courthouse, hoping to catch a glimpse of Vasquez and possibly get their own hug. After Vasquez’s cross-examination of Heard, a meme reimagined the attorney as Thor, the god of thunder portrayed by Chris Hemsworth in Marvel movies.

Vasquez’s star only rose further after a verdict was announced on 1 June largely favoring Depp.

[25 June 2022 11:00 · Clemence Michallon]

What attorneys say about Amber Heard’s options to appeal

After the verdict was announced, The Independent spoke with three attorneys about Ms Heard’s possible grounds for an appeal, or even a new trial: Lisa Bloom of The Bloom Firm, whose clients have included Janice Dickinson, Mischa Barton, and several victims of Jeffrey Epstein; Jesse Weber, a host and attorney at the Law & Crime network, who covered the trial from the courthouse in Fairfax, Virginia; and Mitra Ahouraian, an entertainment attorney in Beverly Hills who represents actors, directors, producers, and musicians.

[25 June 2022 10:00 · Clemence Michallon]

Amber Heard suggests she will appeal Johnny Depp ruling

Amber Heard has suggested she intends to file an appeal in the wake of Johnny Depp’s victory in the defamation trial.

Judge Penney Azcarate entered a judgement on Friday echoing the verdict that was handed down on 1 June.

The legal teams of the actors met in court on Friday, but it remains unclear if they discussed a settlement. Judge Azcarate had given the two parties until Friday to reach a settlement if they wanted to do so.

[25 June 2022 09:00 · Clemence Michallon]

Amber Heard felt ‘less than human’ during trial

Amber Heard has told Savannah Guthrie of NBC News that she felt “less than human” during her defamation trial against ex-husband Johnny Depp.

“Every single day I passed, for three, four, sometimes six blocks, city blocks with people holding signs saying ‘burn the witch’, ‘death to Amber’. After three and a half weeks, I took the stand and saw just a courtroom packed full of Captain Jack Sparrow fans, who were vocal, energised,” Ms Heard said.

“Can you put into words how that felt?” Ms Guthrie asked.

“This was the most humiliating and horrible thing I’ve ever been through. I have never felt more removed from my own humanity,” Ms Heard said. “I felt less than human.”

[25 June 2022 08:00 · Clemence Michallon]

Influencer says Johnny Depp confided in her

Johnny Depp reportedly confided in an influencer who was covering his trial against his ex-wife Amber Heard. Jessica Reed Kraus, who goes by the username @houseinhabit on Instagram and has more than 900,000 followers, posted daily updates about the six-week defamation trial to her account. On Tuesday, Kraus claimed in a post shared to Substack that she spoke with Depp on the same day that the trial began, on 11 April.

[25 June 2022 07:00 · Clemence Michallon]

Notebook sells for $15,000

A notebook purportedly containing never-before-seen details from the Johnny Depp-Amber Heard defamation trial has been sold for thousands of dollars on eBay.

The notebook was listed by Larry Foreman, a defense attorney from Kentucky who attended the defamation trial in Fairfax, Virginia. The “top secret” notebook includes about 20 pages of jury observations from Foreman, who sat in on the trial on 17 May, and from 23 May to 26 May. Each page contains “never before seen” notes from the juror’s reactions to Dr Hughes and Amber Heard – which were not shown on television – as well as roughly “100+ tweets of top secret information about the jurors”.

Since it was listed on 1 June at $0.99, the notebook received 142 bids before selling on 8 June for $14,969. The eBay listing indicates that the funds will be donated to the Children’s Hospital of Los Angeles.

Meredith Clark reports:

[25 June 2022 06:00 · Clemence Michallon]

Johnny Depp lawyer Camille Vasquez promoted to partner

Camille Vasquez was elevated to partner at her firm Brown Rudnick following the key role she played as a member of Johnny Depp’s legal team during the defamation trial against Amber Heard.

Ms Vasquez became one of several unexpected celebrities at the trial through her tough cross-examination of witnesses and frequent objections to defence counsel questions.

Oliver O’Connell reports:

[25 June 2022 05:12 · Clemence Michallon]

Amber Heard discusses ‘barricades’ and ‘protected entrance’ she used to enter courthouse

Amber Heard has opened up about the protective measures that were implemented for her during the recent defamation trial against ex-husband Johnny Depp.

The Aquaman star sat down with NBC News’ Savannah Guthrie for an interview and recounted her experience.

“Every single day I passed city blocks lined with people holding signs saying things that I couldn’t repeat on television,” she explained.