‘Nobody Wants Season 2’: Johnny Depp Fans Implore Amber Heard To Not Go For Second Trial, Claim ‘He Can’t Go Through That Trauma Again’
It’s official that Amber Heard and her legal team are all in for a second installment of the defamation trial originally filed by Johnny Depp. The lawyers have appealed the jury’s June 1 verdict that awarded Johnny Depp $10 million in compensatory damages and $5 million in punitive damages (that the judge had immediately reduced to $350,000 owing to the state cap), alleging that it was not backed by proper and sufficient evidence.
The due monetary amount was also claimed to be “excessive” and “indefensible” by Heard’s lawyers in the post-trial motion filed on Friday. One of the jurors on the jury has also been dragged in by Heard’s attorneys, who claim that the court did not vet that individual properly.
Amber Heard refuses to accept the verdict
To put it simply, Amber Heard’s legal team has asked the Judge to discard the original jury verdict. They have also asked the court to either dismiss Depp’s defamation lawsuit or order a new trial.
Johnny Depp had sued Amber Heard for writing a December 2018 op-ed in The Washington Post claiming to be a victim of domestic abuse. Although she didn’t explicitly mention her ex-husband Johnny Depp, Depp had her sued for $50 million claiming that the op-ed impacted his reputation despite not naming him explicitly. Amber Heard counter-sued for $100 million.
To win the case, Depp had to prove that, first of all, her Washington Post op-ed was written with actual malice, and second of all, he never assaulted his ex-wife, which he did. He won the verdict on both grounds, while also proving that Heard was the real abuser.
Nothing has been proved according to Heard’s attorneys
The post-trial motion that Heard’s legal team filed claimed that Depp and his attorneys failed to prove that the 2018 op-ed was written with actual malice because for that, they had to prove that when Heard wrote the article, she did not actually believe that she was a victim of domestic and sexual abuse. Heard’s lawyers say in the motion:
“Instead, the evidence overwhelmingly supported Ms. Heard believed she was the victim of abuse at the hands of Mr. Depp.”
Amber Heard still stands by her testimony and claims to stand by it till she dies.
Another part of the appeal asked the judge to investigate “potential improper juror service.” Heard’s legal team claims that Juror 15’s date of birth was listed to be 1945 in the official documents shared with the attorneys prior to the jury selection process, but certain publicly available information lists them as being born in 1970. According to Heard’s lawyers:
“This discrepancy raises the question whether Juror 15 actually received a summons for jury duty and was properly vetted by the Court to serve on the jury.”
Meanwhile, Twitter went berserk with Depp fans making fun of Amber Heard and her legal team for a desperate attempt just to save face (and money).
This is clearly a ‘if all else fails, grab your ankles’ moment for these attorneys.
I like to imagine myself peeing on that slowly sinking arm sticking out of the quicksand.
Karma baby! Sooner or later, you’ll get back what you’ve released out onto the world!!
— Deo (@Deo95703234) July 4, 2022
Tell me it’s a joke.
— Stef🇮🇹💙🏴☠️(JDrelative) (@stefi6679b) July 4, 2022
https://twitter.com/NickolettaZ/status/1544034825648148485
Many fans empathize with Johnny and their sole concern is the pain and trauma the actor might have to revisit in the face of a second trial.
Bless his heart. I feel for him. Looking at his demeanor during the replaying of those tapes tore my heart out.
— Angela Deverger (@angela_deverger) July 4, 2022
Yes, that`s right.. ❤️ and I really don't want Johnny to go through everything again. Never! But if it came to an appeal, I think AH would be taught a lesson that would be hard to swallow.
— marilotte 🌷🏴☠️🇩🇪 (@marilottchen) July 4, 2022
Depp’s attorneys are still to respond to the post-trial motion filed by Heard’s legal team.
Source: CBS