The jury’s decision in the multimillion-dollar defamation lawsuit that actress Amber Heard lost to her ex-husband, actor Johnny Depp of “Pirates of the Caribbean,” is being appealed.
On Thursday, Heard’s attorneys submitted a notice of appeal to the Virginia Court of Appeals on behalf of the 36-year-old “Aquaman” actress.
“We believe the court made errors that prevented a just and fair verdict consistent with the First Amendment,” Heard’s spokeswoman stated in relation to the constitutional provision defending free speech.
“We are therefore appealing the verdict,” they said.
“While we realize today’s filing will ignite the Twitter bonfires, there are steps we need to take to ensure both fairness and justice.”
A Virginia jury in June awarded $10 million in damages to Depp after concluding that Heard’s 2018 newspaper column was defamatory.
Depp sued Heard over a Washington Post op-ed in which she identified herself as a “public figure representing domestic abuse” without mentioning him.
Heard, who filed a counterclaim, was given $2 million.
After a lengthy, six-week trial that was hotly fought, the jury returned a verdict based on those claims of domestic violence.
Millions of people watched the case’s live feed, which included graphic and confidential information about the private lives of Hollywood celebrities.
A court denied Heard’s request for a fresh trial earlier this month. Heard had argued that one of the seven jurors had been misidentified as his son rather than the guy who had been called for jury duty.
Heard’s attorneys urged the judge who presided over the trial to throw out the jury decision and declare a mistrial, but she declined.