Can Amber Heard Afford to Pay Johnny Depp $10.4 Million in Damages? ‘Absolutely Not’

Amber Heard’s lawyer Elaine Bredehoft confirmed on “Today” that the “Aquaman” actor cannot afford to pay just over $10 million in damages to Johnny Depp. The defamation trial between Depp and Heard came to an end June 1 when the jury ruled that Heard defamed Depp when her byline was attached to a Washington Post op-ed in 2018 and alluded to her past claims of domestic violence against Depp.

When asked by “Today” host Savannah Guthrie if Heard would be able to afford the $10 million in damages that’s she’s being ordered to pay, Bredehoft answered bluntly,  “Oh no. Absolutely not.”

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The jury awarded Depp $10 million in compensatory damages, plus $5 million in punitive damages — which Judge Penney Azcarate reduced to $350,000 in accordance with the state’s statutory cap. That brings the total to $10.35 million. The jury also ruled that Depp defamed Heard, through his attorney, while fighting back against her charges. Heard has been awarded to $2 million in compensatory damages for her counterclaim.

Elsewhere in her “Today” interview, Bredehoft went on record saying that Heard will “absolutely” want to appeal the trial verdict. The attorney also blasted the jury, claiming the group was swayed in Depp’s favor because of the vitriol Heard received on social media throughout the trial.

“The disappointment I feel today is beyond words,” Heard wrote in a statement following the verdict. “I’m heartbroken that the mountain of evidence still was not enough to stand up to the disproportionate power, influence, and sway of my ex-husband.”

Heard continued, “I’m even more disappointed with what this verdict means for other women. It is a setback. It sets back the clock to a time when a woman who spoke up and spoke out could be publicly shamed and humiliated. It sets back the idea that violence against women is to be taken seriously.”

Watch Bredehoft’s full interview on “Today” in the video below.

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