The legal battle between Johnny Depp and Amber Heard is over, at least for now, but that doesn’t mean that the battle in the public eye is going to take a back seat. Following the verdict, in which both sides were found to be guilty of defamation, but the Pirates of the Caribbean actor received the larger award of financial damages. Depp took to his new TikTok account to thank his supporters. Now Heard has made a response to the social media video, through a spokesperson.
In a statement made available to ET by a spokesperson for Amber Heard made reference to Depp’s first TikTok, where he talked about “moving forward” after the verdict, but said that in her opinion, the rights of women are moving in the other direction. The statement reads…
As Johnny Depp says he's 'moving forward,' women's rights are moving backward. The verdict's message to victims of domestic violence is...be afraid to stand up and speak out.
The verdict in the defamation case has been a controversial one, as it stemmed from Amber Heard’s claims that she was a victim of domestic abuse during her marriage to Johnny Depp. Depp’s alleged abuse was also core to a libel case that Depp himself brought against a UK newspaper previously. Depp lost that case when the judge found Heard’s statements to be substantially true.
Amber Heard has promised to appeal the verdict, which requires her to pay Depp $15 million. Amber Heard did technically win a counter claim of defamation as well, but Depp was only ordered to pay $2 million in damages as a result of that.
It’s certainly understandable that Johnny Depp has come out of this feeling quite positive, while Amber Heard’s statement makes it clear that she’s not feeling as strong. The jury’s verdict sent a strong message, and for Amber Heard, and her supporters, it likely does feel like a significant step backwards. If you believe Heard, then a woman who suffered abuse is now paying her abuser for speaking out.
Assuming that Amber Heard does appeal the verdict as she has said she will do, then we haven’t quite heard the end of this story yet. There will be more legal wrangling. It certainly isn't unheard of for, at the very least, the amount of damages to change significantly as part of an appeal, so even if we don't see an appeal result in a drastic change in the verdict's view, it could mean a very different amount of money changing hands.
What the verdict could mean to the career of Johnny Depp or Amber Heard is another question, and perhaps the more important one. It's far to early to have that answer with any certainty.
