Amber Heard's lawyer says actor 'absolutely' can't afford to pay $10 mn to Johnny Depp

Johnny Depp and Amber Heard's high profile defamation trial recently came to an end after almost six weeks and the jury's verdict favoured the Pirates of the Caribbean actor. Moments after the verdict was announced, the two actors took to social media to express their feelings about the same. In the case, The jury declared that Amber Heard defamed Depp and awarded him compensatory and punitive damages, which Heard had to pay him.

Johnny Depp and Amber Heard's verdict

The jury awarded Depp $10 Million in compensatory damages, along with $5 Million in punitive damages. They also awarded Heard $2 Million in compensatory damages. It is important to note that in Virginia, where the trial took place, punitive damages are capped at $350,000. This means Depp will get around $10 Million in damages.

Now, the recent reports by Hollywood Life have stated that Heard 'cannot afford to pay' the massive sum to her ex-husband. Heard's attorney, Elaine Bredehoft, appeared on Today, and he was asked if Heard will be able to pay Depp the damages she owes him. This is when the attorney replied, "Oh no, absolutely not." The Daily Beast earlier reported that if the actor is unable to pay the amount, 'the prevailing party is entitled to broad discovery on that point'. This means that Depp will be likely entitled to have a look at her financial records.

Amber Heard shared a statement after the trial verdict was out and mentioned she was 'heartbroken and disappointment'. She wrote, "I believe Johnny's attorneys succeeded in getting the jury to overlook the key issue of Freedom of Speech and ignore evidence that was so conclusive that we won in the U.K."

Amber Heard to appeal Johnny Depp verdict?

During her interaction with the publication, Elaine Bredehoft also mentioned that Heard will 'absolutely' appeal the decision that favoured Depp in the defamation case.

She shed light on the trial and mentioned that she was not allowed to bring up several points, including the libel trial that Depp lost when he sued The Sun for terming him as a 'wife beater' in the UK. Apart from this, she also emphasized that the jury was most certainly swayed by the criticism of Heard on social media. Speaking about the jury she said, "They went home every night. They have families. Their families are on social media. We had a 10-day break in the middle because of the judicial conference. There is no way they couldn’t have been influenced by it. It was horrible. It was really, really lopsided."

Image: AP