Johnny Depp’s Lawyers Address Whether He Will Pursue Amber Heard’s Monetary Damages

Johnny Depp‘s attorneys Ben Chew and Camille Vasquez went on a media tour Wednesday morning and hinted that the Pirates of the Caribbean actor might not try to collect the $10.4 million payout from Amber Heard. Chew said Depp is satisfied with clearing his name. Depp won his defamation lawsuit against Heard, although she was also awarded $2 million.

“We obviously can’t disclose attorney-client communications, but as Mr. Depp testified… this was never about money for Mr. Depp,” Chew told Good Morning America when asked about Heard’s concerns the payout may leave her broke. “This was about restoring his reputation – and he’s done that… It was a total win for Johnny.”

Vazquez also dismissed concerns that the verdict was a blow to the #MeToo movement and had a devastating impact on domestic abuse victims who may be dissuaded from speaking out now. “I think our response to that is we encourage any victim to come forward,” she told George Stephanopoulos. “We do not [think it has a negative impact]. We believe that the verdict speaks for itself; the facts are what they were. The jury made a unanimous decision based on those facts.”

Stephanopoulos asked the attorneys if social media swayed the jury, an idea Chew shook off. “Social media played no role whatsoever,” Chew said. “This was a decision made by the jury on the evidence presented by both sides, and as Camille said [earlier in the interview], it was overwhelmingly in Mr. Depp’s favor.”

During their stop on The Today Show, Chew said he didn’t think there was “any reason to believe” the jurors “violated their oath.” He called that allegation “utterly baseless,” adding, “In fact, very early in the case, the prior Chief Judge White had thrown out the account and the counterclaims that related to that. It was absolutely absurd and baseless.” Vasquez noted that the jurors were admonished every night and “had a tremendous amount of respect for the court and the process, and they were doing the best that they could.”

“Johnny owned his issues. He was very candid about his alcohol and drug issues. He was candid about some unfortunate texts that he wrote,” Chew told Guthrie. “And I think it was a sharp contrast to Ms. Heard who… didn’t take accountability for anything.” Vasquez said Depp had an “overwhelming sense of relief” after the verdict.

Before Chew and Vasquez appeared on Today and GMA, Heard’s rep called them out in a statement to the New York Post. “It is as unseemly as it is unprofessional that Johnny Depp’s legal team has chosen to do a victory lap for setting back decades of how women can be treated in the courtroom,” Heard’s rep said. “What’s next? A movie deal and merchandising?”

However, Heard’s own lawyer, Elaine Bredehoft, gave interviews to some of the same outlets. On Thursday, Bredehoft told Today Heard would “absolutely” not be able to pay the $10.4 million in damages. She also accused Depp’s attorneys of suppressing evidence. Chew called that allegation “very disappointing to hear.”

Depp filed a $50 million defamation lawsuit against Heard in 2019 over her 2018 Washington Post op-ed about being a domestic violence survivor. She filed a $100 million countersuit, accusing Depp of defaming her for calling her allegations a hoax. The jury agreed with Depp that three statements in the op-ed defamed Depp, but only found one of Heard’s three contested statements from Depp’s attorney defamed her. Depp was awarded $10 million in compensatory damages and $5 million in punitive damages (which was lowered to $350,000 because of Virginia state law limits), while Heard was awarded $2 million in compensatory damages.