On Wednesday, Heard and Depp were convicted of defamation in a duel lawsuit against each other. However, the jury awarded Depp much more in damages.
“That’s because she’s been demonized here,” Breidhooft said of the sentencing. “Something was allowed in this court that shouldn’t have been allowed, and it was confusing to the jury.”
In a subsequent interview with CNN’s Kate Bordan, Breidhooft said the jury has ruled in Depp’s favor on each of his claims, in part because he has ” Wealth, Power and Fame”.
“I think that makes a huge difference in this situation. But it also says that even if there were pictures, we wouldn’t trust women,” she said. “Basically, unless she takes out her phone, her iPhone and takes a video of him when he beats her, she won’t be believed, it’s not going to happen.”
Depp is suing Hurd for $50 million after he claims she defamed him in a 2018 Washington Post op-ed in which she wrote about her experiences of domestic violence.
Heard’s article doesn’t mention Depp by name, but he credits it with giving him work.
She countersued him for $100 million after Depp’s lawyers called her abuse a “hoax” in a statement.
The jury found that Heard defamed Depp in three separate statements in the op-ed, and Depp defamed Heard in a statement from his lawyer.
The jury awarded Depp $10 million in compensatory damages and $5 million in punitive damages, capped at $350,000 in Virginia. The jury awarded Hurd $2 million in compensatory damages without any punitive damages.
CNN also asked to interview Depp’s lawyers, but they declined.
Appeal Plan
“From the very beginning, the purpose of bringing this case up was to reveal the truth, regardless of the outcome. Telling the truth is a debt I owe to my children and to all those who stood by me steadfastly,” Depp’s statement read. “Knowing that I’ve finally done that, I feel at peace.”
Bredehoft told CNN she felt the combination of the cameras and the number of Depp fans who went to court for the former couple’s defamation trial turned the courtroom into “a gymnasium-like thing.”
“I think some of it has to do with the amount of social media involved, the cameras in the courtroom,” Breidhoff said. “The fact that they have 100 Depp fans there every day is like a gym rather than a solemn courtroom. I think all of those things have a negative impact here, making it more challenging and difficult.”
Bredehoft also said that while she has no doubts that the jurors in the trial tried to follow the judge’s instructions to not read any news about the trial, she thought it would be difficult to block all discussion of the trial. A six-week trial is underway.
“But the reality is social media is everywhere, it’s all over the TV, the radio, the internet, it’s everywhere. It’s really hard to stop it. And because it’s so mean to Amber, I think it makes it even harder,” Brad Hough said.
Bredehoft said Hurd’s appeal would be focused in part on highlighting information that Hurd was not allowed to testify during the trial, which Depp’s team objected to as hearsay.
“I don’t question the fairness of the judge. I think she’s a very good judge, I’ve known her for a long time. That doesn’t mean I don’t question the ruling, I challenge the ruling in this case,” Breidhoff Say.
Sonia Moghe contributed to this story.
