Amber Heard's Lawyer Explains Why Actress Lost Johnny Depp Case

Johnny Depp won his defamation lawsuit against his ex-wife Amber Heard because his legal team was able to "suppress" an "enormous amount of evidence," among other things, the latter's lawyer has claimed.

Heard's defense was not allowed to tell a Virginia jury that a court in the United Kingdom found Depp had committed at least 12 acts of domestic violence against his former partner, the actress' lawyer, Elaine Charlson Bredehoft, told Today.

"We had an enormous amount of evidence that was suppressed in this case that was in the U.K. case," Bredehoft said, referencing Depp's 2020 libel lawsuit against British media publisher News U.K.

Depp filed the case after The Sun, one of News U.K.'s tabloids, labeled the actor a "wife-beater" and criticized his role in the "Fantastic Beasts” film series. A British court ultimately ruled that 12 out of Depp's 14 alleged domestic abuse incidents against Heard had been "proven to a civil standard," and he failed to overturn the verdict.

The difference between the U.K. case and the most recent $50 million defamation lawsuit, which stemmed from Heard's op-ed for The Washington Post in 2018, was that Depp's legal team was "able to demonize Amber" and "suppress the evidence," according to Bredehoft.

In addition, "a number of things were allowed in [the Virginia] court that should not have been allowed," which "caused the jury to be confused," the lawyer added.

Heard had identified herself as a "public figure representing domestic abuse" in the op-ed piece, which Depp's lawyer claimed was an "implication" that their client was an abuser despite him not being named.

While a jury at the Circuit Court of Fairfax County awarded Heard $2 million after it found one statement by Depp defamatory against her, it also awarded Depp $10 million in compensatory damages related to lost jobs and career opportunities and another $5 million in punitive damages after finding "clear and convincing evidence" that Heard defamed her ex-husband in her 2018 piece.

The punitive damages were reduced to $350,000 because that is the state of Virginia's legal limit, resulting in Depp being awarded around $10.4 million in total.

Heard would "absolutely not" be able to pay the amount, according to Bredehoft.

The verdict has also supposedly served as a rejection of Heard's testimony that Depp had physically and mentally abused her.

"It's a horrible message. It's a significant setback, because that's exactly what it means. Unless you pull out your phone and you video your spouse or your significant other beating you, effectively you won't be believed," Bredehoft said.