“We realize today’s filing will ignite the Twitter bonfires…”
Amber Heard has finally moved to appeal her trial loss to Johnny Depp in a move that could spin up a fresh round of legal warfare between the formerly married actors.
Heard’s lawyers filed a notice of appeal in a Virginia courtroom on Thursday, roughly seven weeks after Depp largely won their high-profile court battle.
Depp successfully convinced a jury earlier this year that Heard defamed him with a 2018 Washington Post op-ed, and he was ultimately awarded $10.35 million in damages from the case. Heard also won part of her case and was handed $2 million in damages, but she immediately made it clear that she’d appeal the verdict.
And now, she has.
“We believe the court made errors that prevented a just and fair verdict consistent with the First Amendment. We are therefore appealing the verdict,” a spokesperson for Heard said in a statement to various outlets, including People magazine. “While we realize today’s filing will ignite the Twitter bonfires, there are steps we need to take to ensure both fairness and justice.”
The notice of appeal was two paragraphs and did not lay out a full argument for her case, Variety reports.
Heard’s lawyers already lost a bid to declare a mistrial last week. They’d argued that one juror wasn’t properly vetted because of confusion around his date of birth, but the judge dismissed the motion and said there was no evidence of fraud or any impact on the verdict.
Depp’s team disregarded Heard’s request for an appeal in a statement to TMZ on Thursday.
“The jury listened to extensive evidence presented during the six-week trial and came to a clear and unanimous verdict that the defendant herself defamed Mr. Depp in multiple instances,” Depp’s team said.
“We remain confident in our case and that this verdict will stand.”
The two actors have each accused each other of abuse throughout their relationship and brief marriage, which ended in 2016.
Depp has been touring Europe with his musician friends since the trial ended, while Heard has only given one sit-down interview about the case.
In that interview, Heard blasted the “hate and vitriol” that people sent her way on social media throughout the trial.
“You cannot tell me that you think that this has been fair,” she said.
She added that she understands why a jury would side with her ex-husband.
“He’s a beloved character and people feel they know him,” she said. “He’s a fantastic actor.”
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