Johnny Depp’s Lawyers Respond to Accusations They Led Smear Campaign Against Amber Heard, Say Case Was ‘Never About Money’
08.06.2022 - 19:59
/ usmagazine.com
Johnny Depp’s lawyers Camille Vasquez and Benjamin Chew shut down assumptions that online support for their client swayed the jury’s ruling in his defamation lawsuit.
“Social media played no role whatsoever. 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,” Chew said during a joint interview on Good Morning America, which aired on Wednesday, June 8, noting that the court battle was “never about money.”
The attorney had a similar response during an appearance on Today, adding, “No, I don’t think there’s any reason to believe that the jurors violated their oath. And again, that suggestion was disappointing to hear [from Amber Heard’s lawyer Elaine Bredehoft].”
Vasquez, for her part, praised the jury members for their dedication to the trial. “It is everywhere, but at the same time, they were admonished every single night,” she added. “They had a tremendous amount of respect for the court and the process, and they were doing the best that they could.”
Heard’s lawyer recently called out the role that social media seemingly played in the high-profile lawsuit. “How can you not [see it]? [The jury] went home every night. They have families. The families are on social media,” Bredehoft said on the Today show on Thursday, June 2. “We had a 10-day break in the middle because of the judicial conference. There’s no way they couldn’t have been influenced by it. And it was horrible. It really, really was lopsided. It’s like the Roman Colosseum.”
The commentary on the trial comes after a judge announced earlier this month that Depp, 58, would be awarded $10 million in compensatory damages and $5 million in punitive