Amber Heard Formally Announces Next Step in Legal Fight Against Johnny Depp

Amber Heard isn't done fighting against her ex-husband Johnny Depp…legally. The Pirates of the Caribbean star's multimillion-dollar defamation suit against Amber Heard is over, but not entirely if the Aquaman actress can pay a pricey bond. In a hearing on June 24, a final judgment in the high-profile trial was presented and entered into the docket. But Heard's main attorney Elaine Bredehoft sought to set a briefing schedule and more for a proposed appeal for her client, Deadline reports. The judge told the attorney that if Heard wanted to appeal the verdict from the seven-person jury, the lawyer would have to file motions with the court. The lawyer was also informed that Heard will have to put up an $8.35 million bond with 6% interest per year for any appeal to formally move forward.

Depp was previously awarded $15 million in damages by the jury in his $50 million defamation case against his ex. The lawsuit stemmed from Heard's Wahington Post op-ed in which she detailed being physically abused in her relationship, though she did not explicitly name Depp in the piece. In Heard's countersuit against Depp, she was awarded $2 million in damages out of her $100 million requests.

The defamation trial lasted six weeks and was televised and analyzed daily. Jurors came forward and admitted Heard's testimony was difficult for them to believe. Following the initial verdict, Heard spoke out, saying it was an injustice for abuse victims. Depp reportedly feels vindicated. "As stated in yesterday's congressional hearings, you don't ask for a pardon if you are innocent," a rep for Heard said in a reference to revelations out of the January 6 Committee hearings. "And, you don't decline to appeal if you know you are right."

Heard isn't the only legal battle Depp is up against. City of Lies location manager Gregg "Rocky" Brooks' 2018 assault and battery lawsuit against Depp is scheduled to go to trial in LA on July 25. Depp allegedly hit Rocky repeatedly on April 13, 2017 after being informed that filming on the Brad Furman-helmed pic about the LAPD investigation into the 1997 murder of the Notorious B.I.G. was going to have to wrap late that night in downtown L.A.

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