“This was never about money”: Johnny Depp’s lawyer discusses if actor will drop $8M defamation claim against Amber Heard

Johnny Depp’s lawyers Benjamin Chew and Camille Vasquez recently appeared on the Today show to discuss the aftermath of the actor's win in the defamation trial against his ex-wife Amber Heard.

Speaking to Mr Chew, host George Stephanopoulos asked if Depp would drop his $8 million in damages claim against Heard if the latter decides not to move forward with her appeal against the verdict.

In response, the attorney said that although he could not reveal confidential details due to attorney-client privilege, he can confirm that Johnny Depp never cared about the money and only fought the legal battle against Amber Heard to make the world see his truth.

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A look into Benjamin Chew’s statement on Johnny Depp and Amber Heard verdict

Johnny Depp's lawyer reveals actor's defamation lawsuit against Amber Heard was "never about money" (Image via Getty Images)

The Johnny Depp vs. Amber Heard defamation trial came to an end on June 1 with a seven-body jury ruling in favour of the Pirates of the Caribbean star. Depp filed a $50 million libel lawsuit against Heard over her 2018 Washington Post op-ed, where she claimed to be a domestic abuse survivor.

Although the actor was not named directly in the story, his team claimed that the article indicated towards Depp as the alleged abuser. They said that the op-ed damaged Depp’s public image and negatively impacted his career.

Heard later countersued Depp for $100 million and claimed that the actor assaulted her during their relationship and marriage. Following nearly seven weeks of deliberations, a Fairfax County jury announced that Heard did attempt to defame Depp through her op-ed.

A few days after the trial, Depp’s lawyers Benjamin Chew and Camille Vasquez appeared on shows like Today and Good Morning America to discuss the verdict. During the conversation, host Stephanopoulos noted that Heard had planned to appeal the ruling.

He also asked if Depp would dismiss the $8 million claim if Heard stops her decision to appeal:

“You have said that the goal was not to impoverish Ms Heard – is it possible that we could see a settlement where she foregoes the appeal in return for Mr Depp waving any monetary damages?”

Although lawyer Chew said that he could not reveal his private conversations with the actor, he mentioned that the defamation case was “never about money for Mr Depp”.

“This was about restoring his reputation and he has done that.”

Stephanopoulos further asked:

“So you’re not disclosing any privileges, but it sounds like that’s something that could be on the table but it’s up to Ms Heard?”

Chew replied that the case was mostly about Depp’s reputation over other things:

“We have to be careful what we say, but this was about Mr Depp’s reputation, that’s what it was about for him.”

Speaking about Johnny Depp’s reaction to the verdict, Chew said that the actor was “over the moon”:

“It was like the weight of the world had been taken off his shoulders and I feel that finally after six years he’s gotten his life back.”

As of now, Amber Heard is set to pay $8 million in damages to Depp. The Fairfax County court awarded a total of $15 million to Johnny Depp in compensatory and punitive damages.

The latter was then reduced to $350,000 as per Virginia law that caps the amount of punitive damages. Heard was also awarded $2 million for winning a claim about Depp’s former attorney Adam Waldman defaming the actress during some of his past statements to the press.

Therefore, Heard currently owes approximately $8 million to Depp, but it remains to be seen if the latter will withdraw the damage claims if the Aquaman actress refrains from appealing against the verdict.