Amber Heard files appeal against Johnny Depp verdict

Filing says libel verdict will have 'chilling effect' on women

Amber Heard said last month that she stands by 'every word' of her testimony in her defamation trial, in which she was sued by former husband Johnny Depp. AFP

NBC journalist Savannah Guthrie interviewed Heard in June following the trial's conclusion. She revealed how her husband Michael Feldman consulted with Depp's legal team. Photo: NBC News

Heard says she doesn’t blame the jury for awarding Depp more than $15 million after a contentious six-week libel trial — it was later reduced to $10m. AP

Heard reacts with her lawyer Elaine Bredehoft after the verdict was read at the Fairfax County Circuit Courthouse, Virginia, US, in June. AP

Depp was in Newcastle, England, with musician Jeff Beck when the verdict was read. AP

Heard leaves after the jury's verdict. EPA

Heard and Depp prior to their wedding. The marriage lasted less than two years. AP

Heard in a scene from 'London Fields'. Photo: GVN Releasing

After losing his lawsuit against British tabloid 'The Sun', Depp said he planned to appeal the UK libel ruling, but then decided to sue his ex-wife in the US. AP

Heard speaking at the 4th Annual Women's March LA: Women Rising in Los Angeles in January 2020. Getty Images / AFP

Heard leaving the High Court in London in July 2020. Reuters

A video of Depp plays on a screen before Paul McCartney's performance on the Pyramid Stage at Glastonbury Festival in June. EPA

After speaking out about domestic abuse, Amber Heard feared she would lose her roles in the movies 'Justice League' and 'Aquaman', the latter of which she starred in opposite Jason Momoa. Photo: DC Entertainment

Depp gestures as he arrives at the Parco della Musica venue for the 19th edition of "Alice nella Citta" in Rome, Italy. AFP

Heard wearing an outfit from Monique Lhuillier at the Golden Globes in 2019. Reuters

Heard arrives on the red carpet for a Golden Globes ceremony. AFP

Heard watches the men's semi-final match at Wimbledon in 2018. EPA

Since the trial, Depp has been playing guitar on stage in front of fans. AP

Heard at the Film Independent Spirit Awards in Santa Monica, California, in 2020. Reuters

Heard attends the Manus x Machina: Fashion In An Age Of Technology Costume Institute Gala at Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York in 2016. Getty Images

Heard wears a creation for the L'Oreal Spring/Summer 2022 fashion show presented in Paris, France, in 2021. AP

Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, Helen Mirren and Heard in Paris, France. AP

After Depp filed a lawsuit against her, Heard testified she lost her contract with L'Oreal. AFP

Depp inside the courtroom in April at the beginning of the trial. AP

Heard is styled backstage during Paris Fashion Week in 2021. Getty Images

Depp performs on stage at the Helsinki Blues Festival in June. EPA

British rock guitarist Jeff Beck and Depp perform on stage at the Helsinki Blues Festival. EPA

Depp waves to supporters as he departs the Fairfax County Courthouse after closing arguments. He never returned for the reading of the verdict. AP

Depp received the Gold Medal of Merit on the occasion of Serbia's Statehood Day in Belgrade, Serbia, in February. Reuters

Depp and Heard's former penthouse sits on top of Downtown Los Angeles’s famed Eastern Columbia Building and was recently put up for sale. Photo: Douglas Elliman Realty

There is a saltwater pool on the rooftop. Photo: Douglas Elliman Realty

There is an additional lounge area on the staircase landing. Photo: Douglas Elliman Realty

The apartment measures 1,780 square feet. Photo: Douglas Elliman Realty

The penthouse apartment has one bedroom. Photo: Douglas Elliman Realty

The kitchen and lounge area. Photo: Douglas Elliman Realty

Amber Heard's new legal team has filed an appeal against the verdict in the defamation suit brought by her former husband, Johnny Depp.

The US jury found in June that an opinion piece in The Washington Post in which she said she “became a public figure representing domestic abuse” defamed Depp to the tune of $10 million.

Heard secured one of three counter-claims against Depp, 59, and was awarded $2 million in compensatory damages, against which Depp is appealing.

“This case also should never have gone to trial because another court had already concluded that Depp abused Heard on multiple occasions," the filing said.

After Depp filed this case, the UK High Court of Justice ruled in a separate defamation action brought by him that Heard’s abuse allegations were true,” the document read.

Lawyers also contend that the trial should have never taken place in the state of Virginia.

Heard and Depp live in Los Angeles but his lawyers filed suit there on the argument that that is where The Post’s servers were.

“They filed there because he wouldn’t have won in Los Angeles,” someone close to the case told The National.

“A California jury would not have been starstruck by Depp. They would’ve seen right through him.”

Heard said the decision "undoubtedly will have a chilling effect on other women who wish to speak about abuse involving powerful men”.

She asks in the 156-page filing that the verdict be tossed or that she be granted a new trial.

Just last week, the abuse trial of actor Danny Masterson ended in a mistrial after three women accused him of similar acts of violence.

In New York, screenwriter Paul Haggis was found guilty on all counts in a civil rape trial.

The filing also objects to Judge Penney Azcarate’s decision to reject pieces of evidence such as Heard’s therapist’s notes in which she speaks of the abuse.

Depp and Heard met in 2009 when she auditioned to star opposite him in The Rum Diary. They married in 2015, but it was short-lived.

In May 2016, Heard filed for divorce and for a domestic violence temporary restraining order against Depp in Los Angeles Superior Court, submitting a declaration describing his temper, paranoia and substance abuse issues.

“I had to leave him,” the Aquaman star told the jury at the trial. “I knew I wouldn't survive if I didn't.

“Johnny would always say the only way out of [the marriage] was death. At the time, [filing for divorce] felt like the hardest thing I've ever had to do."

In November, feminist leader and Ms publisher Gloria Steinem, along with 130 other leaders and organisations, wrote an open letter in support of Heard.

"The vilification of Ms Heard and ongoing online harassment of her and those who have voiced support for her have been unprecedented in both vitriol and scale," the open letter read.

"Much of this harassment was fuelled by disinformation, misogyny, biphobia, and a monetised social media environment where a woman’s allegations of domestic violence and sexual assault were mocked for entertainment."

Ms Azcarate's decision to allow cameras in the courtroom also sparked many debates as proceedings with allegations of domestic abuse are rarely televised.

The trial took place over a span of seven weeks and is estimated to have been watched by more than a billion viewers.