Amber Heard’s lawyer Elaine Bredehoft said Amber Heard’s next move is to appeal the jury’s decision to side with Johnny Depp, awarding him $10 million in compensatory damages and $5 million in punitive damages.
Bredehoft appeared on CBS Mornings on Thursday calling the outcome “a major setback for women — for women inside the courtroom and outside the courtroom.”
“What this jury said is unless you pull out your cellphone and you tape-record your spouse beating you, you’re out of luck,” Bredehoft said, noting Depp’s celebrity status outshined Heard’s and kept the jury from believing her.
In looking back at the case, Bredehoft said the fact that cameras were allowed in the courtroom affected the trial. She said, “It should not have happened.”
“I think that there were a lot of influences here that were beyond our control. I think the social media, it was like a Roman coliseum is the best way to describe the atmosphere here,” Bredehoft said, noting the negative posts toward Heard. “And I have to believe that the jury, even though they’re told not to go and look at anything, they have weekends. They have families. They have social media.”
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Bredehoft also said she did not think Depp’s lawyers “were fighting fair” because they “completely ignored the cycle of violence and just said, ‘Oh, she wouldn’t have done this if he had been hitting her.’ That was their approach.”
Heard left the courtroom after the jury’s verdict Wednesday and immediately apologized for the outcome and how it affects other women, according to Bredehoft.
“She is heartbroken. And one of the first things she said when she came back from the verdict, when we went into the conference room, was, ‘I am so sorry to all these women,’” Bredehoft said. “She felt like she had let down all of these women because she had more evidence than most people do, and yet they still didn’t believe her.”
Bredehoft reiterated that Heard is a survivor of domestic violence.
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In addition to awarding Depp compensatory and punitive damages, the jury also found that Depp defamed Heard regarding a statement made by his former lawyer Adam Waldman.
Heard was subsequently awarded $2 million in damages. However, the jury did not find two other statements presented by the actress’s suit to be defamatory.
