Johnny Depp’s attorneys on Wednesday morning, June 8, appeared on several shows to slam his ex-wife, Amber Heard’s claims the trial was unfair after she lost the high profile case.
Camille Vasquez and Benjamin Chew appeared on TODAY, Good Morning America, and then on the Law and Crime network, where they said the actor is considering waiving Amber Heard’s $8million judgment now that his reputation has been restored.
They told how happy Johnny now was to have won the case and that he ‘hasn’t smiled like this in six years’ when his problems with Heard began.
They also slammed Heard’s claim that she lost the trial because he is more powerful and popular than she is, saying it’s ‘utterly false’ that social media played a part and claiming the jury simply didn’t like her because she unlike Johnny ‘didn’t take accountability for anything.’
The pair then suggested that he might even waive the $8million judgement Amber was ordered to pay him. Her attorneys said she can’t afford it and yesterday revealed plans to file an appeal.
Asked whether or not they would waive the judgement, Depp’s attorneys said: ‘This was never about money for Mr. Depp. This was about restoring his reputation and he’s done that.
‘We have to be careful what we say but this was about Mr. Depp’s reputation but that was what it was about for him.’
‘My sense is that it had a lot to do with accountability. Johnny owned his issues, he was very candid about his alcohol and drug issues, he was candid about some unfortunate texts that he wrote, and I think it was a sharp contrast to Ms Heard, who didn’t seem… or at least the jury may have perceived that she didn’t take accountability for anything,’ said Chew.
He added later: ‘There was a real contrast. Johnny took ownership of a lot of things…
‘She had an answer for everything and she wasn’t taking accountability for anything. I think that made a difference.’
Vasquez added: ‘The key to victory was focusing on the facts and the evidence and Johnny’s opportunity to speak the truth for the first time. He was able to connect with the jury and the general public and tell what really happened.’
On Tuesday, Heard’s attorneys released a statement slamming Depp’s team’s ‘victory lap’ since the trial ended, saying they are collectively setting back women’s rights.
On Wednesday, Depp’s attorneys said that wasn’t the case and that the facts speak for themselves.
‘It’s disappointing. We’re only speaking about what happened in this case and the facts in this case were overwhelming positive for Johnny.
‘The verdict speaks for itself,’ Vasquez said on Good Morning America.
On TODAY, she told Savannah Guthrie: ‘I mean frankly… we’re here to talk about the case that we tried.
‘We encourage all victims to come forward, have their day in court, which is exactly what happened in this case.
‘Domestic violence doesn’t have a gender,’ she added later.
They also insisted that social media – where Johnny was the clear favorite – played ‘no role whatsoever’ in the verdict.
‘My view is that social media played no role whatsoever this was a decision made by the jury on the evidence. It was overwhelmingly in Depp’s favor,’ said Chew.
Johnny, they said, is ‘over the moon’ and now feels like the ‘weight of the world’ has been lifted from his shoulders.
‘I was speaking with another friend of ours, a mutual friend of Johnny’s and ours and ‘he said, “I haven’t seen Johnny smile like that in six years,”‘ said Vasquez, who has been promoted as a result of her performance at the trial.
She said she hoped her newfound fame will inspire young girls to stay in school and pursue legal careers.
‘It’s been overwhelming and surreal but [if] I can encourage young women to stay in school and maybe inspire them to pursue a legal career, then it is all worth it.’
Heard’s lawyer previously claimed there was a mountain of evidence that would have supported their case that didn’t make it into the courtroom.
‘It was horrible. It was really, really lop sided. It’s like the Roman coliseum, how they viewed this whole case,’ Elaine Bredehof said in an appearance on TODAY last week.