Lawyers for Johnny Depp and Amber Heard met again in court on Friday and had one last chance to settle before the judge finalized the June 1 verdict. After a wild six-week trial, the jury found that each star defamed the other but weighed heavily in Depp’s favor. The Pirates of the Caribbean star is owed $10.35 million in damages while Heard was awarded $2 million. It sounds like Heard will appeal the verdict.
A spokesperson for the Aquaman actress issued the following statement to Yahoo Entertainment and referenced the Jan 6. 2021 insurrection hearings: “As stated in yesterday’s congressional hearings, you don’t ask for a pardon if you are innocent. And, you don’t decline to appeal if you know you are right.”
Depp’s attorney, Ben Chew, hinted they would be open to settling if Heard declined to appeal.
“You all have said that the goal was not to impoverish Ms. Heard. Is it possible where we could see a settlement where she forgoes the appeal in return for Mr. Depp waiving any monetary damages?” Good Morning America anchor George Stephanopoulos asked.
“We obviously can’t disclose attorney-client communications, but as Mr. Depp testified … this was never about money for Mr. Depp,” Chew replied. “This was about restoring his reputation — and he’s done that … that’s what it was about for him.”
On Friday, the judge officially entered the judgment into the court record. There’s a catch, though.
If Heard does appeal, she must pay a 6% interest penalty per year starting now. Heard’s attorney, Elaine Bredehoft, previously said on the Today show the actress can’t afford the judgment. (“Oh, no — absolutely not.”)
In a recent sit down with NBC, Heard maintained that Depp abused her, which he has denied for six years. She produced a binder of therapist notes starting in 2011 that the actress said backs up her claims, but were not allowed to be shown at trial.
“It’s unfortunate that while Johnny is looking to move forward with his life, the defendant and her team are back to repeating, reimagining and re-litigating matters that have already been decided by the Court and a verdict that was unanimously and unequivocally decided by the jury in Johnny’s favor,” a spokesperson for Depp stated.
Depp, meanwhile, is booking gigs again — just not necessarily ones involving scripts. The actor announced he’s reuniting with his rock supergroup The Hollywood Vampires for an overseas tour.
MORE: Johnny Depp reunites with The Hollywood Vampires
