Amber Heard appeal – latest: No settlement as actor hints at Johnny Depp ruling challenge

Johnny Depp and Amber Heard: A timeline of their relationship, allegations, and court battles

The trial in Johnny Depp’s defamation lawsuit against Amber Heard drew to a close with a civil jury handing an overwhelming victory to Johnny Depp.

After a six-week trial in Fairfax, Virginia, the jury returned a verdict on 1 June after deliberabating for around two-and-a-half days.

Here is a timeline of Johnny Depp and Amber Heard’s relationship, separation, and court battles, from when they are said to have started dating to the latest trial:

A shouting spectator, Camille Vasquez and alpacas: Unlikely cult celebrities of Johnny Depp v Amber Heard

When a verdict was reached in the bitter defamation trial fought between divorced Hollywood actors Johnny Depp and Amber Heard in Fairfax County, Virginia, credits rolled on the end of eight weeks of blockbuster drama devoured by online audiences around the world.

Fans of the estranged couple exhaustively documented the plaintiff and defendant’s every move and mannerism in court, their attorneys’ arguments, the judge’s interventions and a wealth of colourful witness testimony on TikTok, Instagram and Twitter, carving up what might have amounted to dry legal proceedings into a spectator sport.

Amber Heard felt ‘less than human’ during trial

Amber Heard told Savannah Guthrie of NBC News during an interview that she felt “less than human” during the defamation trial.

“Every single day I passed, for three, four, sometimes six blocks, city blocks with people holding signs saying ‘burn the witch’, ‘death to Amber’. After three and a half weeks, I took the stand and saw just a courtroom packed full of Captain Jack Sparrow fans, who were vocal, energised,” Ms Heard said.

“Can you put into words how that felt?” Ms Guthrie asked.

“This was the most humiliating and horrible thing I’ve ever been through. I have never felt more removed from my own humanity,” Ms Heard said. “I felt less than human.”

Camille Vasquez to represent Johnny Depp again

Camille Vasquez, the surprise star of the legal team that successfully argued the defamation case against Amber Heard for Johnny Depp, will once again represent the actor in court.

Alongside fellow Brown Rudnick partner Randall Smith, Ms Vasquez will defend Mr Depp in a personal injury lawsuit filed against him by Gregg “Rocky” Brooks, location manager on the movie City of Lies.

The trial is set to begin on 25 July in the Los Angeles County Superior Court, with Judge Holly Fujie presiding.

Oliver O’Connell reports:

Influencer claims Johnny Depp confided in her during trial

Johnny Depp reportedly confided in an influencer who was covering his trial against his ex-wife Amber Heard.

Jessica Reed Kraus, who goes by the username @houseinhabit on Instagram and has more than 900,000 followers, posted daily updates about the six-week defamation trial to her account.

On Tuesday, Kraus claimed in a post shared to Substack that she spoke with Depp on the same day that the trial began, on 11 April.

Chelsea Ritschel reports:

Attorney Lisa Bloom believes we have not seen the end of the Johnny Depp v Amber Heard trial, and that the case will be decided on appeal.

Ms Bloom, whose clients have included Janice Dickinson (in her allegations against Bill Cosby), actor Mischa Barton (in a revenge porn lawsuit), and Harvey Weinstein (for whom Ms Bloom was an early advisor before resigning) spoke to BBC Newsnight following the verdict in the defamation case.

Jurors announced on Wednesday (1 June) they had reached a decision in the case opposing Mr Depp and Ms Heard in Fairfax, Virginia. They found that Ms Heard defamed Mr Depp on three statements and that Ms Heard was defamed in one of three statements at the centre of her counter-suit. Mr Depp was awarded $10.35m in damages and Ms Heard was awarded $2m.

“I want to emphasize that this is not the end, because most defamation cases are really decided on appeal,” Ms Bloom told Newsnight, adding that she sees “a lot of issues on appeal” in the Depp v Heard case.

A timeline of Depp and Heard’s relationship and legal battles

The trial in Depp’s defamation lawsuit against Heard drew to a close with a civil jury handing an overwhelming victory to Depp.

Depp sued Heard in March 2019, alleging a column Heard wrote in The Washington Post was defamatory and asking for $50m in damages. Heard filed a $100m countersuit.

After a six-week trial in Fairfax, Virginia, the jury returned a verdict on 1 June after deliberabating for around two-and-a-half days.

Here is a timeline of Johnny Depp and Amber Heard’s relationship, separation, and court battles, from when they are said to have started dating to the latest trial:

Judge Azcarate’s judgement reflecting the verdict given on 1 June has been published by the Fairfax County Court.

It also includes the filled-in verdict sheets through which the jury made its decision known on 1 June.

You can view the document online here.

Amber Heard suggests she will appeal Johnny Depp ruling, no settlement in court

Heard has suggested she will appeal the ruling following Depp’s victory in the defamation trial.

Judge Penney Azcarate entered a judgement echoing the verdict that was handed down on 1 June, Law & Crime reported.

The legal teams of the actors met in court on Friday but it remains unclear if they have discussed a possible settlement. Judge Azcarate gave the two parties until Friday to reach a settlement if they wanted to do so.

Heard’s representative shares statement

A spokesperson for Amber Heard tells The Independent: “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.”