Amber Heard’s lead attorney Elaine Charlson Bredehoft revealed the actress is “absolutely not” able to pay the roughly $8.35 million in damages to Johnny Depp following her stunning civil suit loss in the Depp v. Heard defamation trial.
After being asked Thursday on the Today Show if Heard is “able to pay a $10.4 million judgement,” Bredehoft said, “Oh, no, absolutely not,” adding that they plan to appeal the decision, claiming the jury was tainted by opinions posted social media during the six-week televised defamation trial.
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Depp sued Heard, claiming that a 2018 Washington Post op-ed — in which she described herself as a victim of domestic abuse — has harmed his movie career. Heard countersued for $100 million.
On Wednesday, the jury found that a statement accusing Depp of sexual violence and domestic abuse was defamatory.
The jury also found for Depp on all three of his defamation claims, awarding the Pirates of the Caribbean star $10 million in compensatory damages, and $5 million in punitive damages. The punitive damages, however, were reduced to $350,000 to comply with Virginia law that caps punitive damages at that amount.
Additionally, the jury found for Heard on one of her two claims, awarding her $2 million in compensatory damages, but no punitive damages.
Therefore, Heard is speculated to owe Depp $8.35 million in damages.
Following the verdict, celebritynetworth.com changed Heard’s estimated net worth at negative $8 million, but as of Thursday morning, the site lists the Aquaman actress’ net worth at $1.5 million.
“Prior to the verdict, we estimated that Amber’s net worth was approximately $2.5 million,” celebritynetworth.com explained. “According to a number of reports, Amber’s legal costs up to the point of the verdict were largely covered by her homeowners insurance.”
“As of this writing it’s not clear if her insurance would also cover the full damages,” the site added. “It’s also possible that the damages could be reduced on appeal. If her insurance does not cover the damages, it’s our understanding that Amber would struggle mightily to afford the damages.”
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