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Topics: Celebrity, Amber Heard, Johnny Depp, US News
Jake Massey
Topics: Celebrity, Amber Heard, Johnny Depp, US News
Johnny Depp could sue Amber Heard once again following her latest interview, a legal expert has suggested.
Depp, 59, sued his ex-wife Heard, 36, for $50 million (£38.2 million) in a defamation lawsuit over domestic abuse claims she made in a 2018 article in The Washington Post, and she issued a counterclaim for $100m (£76.4m).
The article did not mention Depp by name, yet his lawyers argued it falsely implied he physically and sexually abused the Aquaman actor while they were together.
The jury found in favour of Depp, finding that what Heard wrote in her op-ed piece was defamatory, and awarded him $10.35 million (£8.2 million) in damages.
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Heard has since spoken out in her first interview since the trial, stating that she will stand by every word of her testimony until the day she dies.
In the TODAY interview, which will be released in full later this week, Heard was asked by host Savannah Guthrie: "He said he never hit you. Is that a lie?"
Heard replied: "Yes it is."
The accusation could see Heard sued by Depp once again, according to New York-based entertainment lawyer Nicole Haff, of Romano Law.
Asked whether Depp could sue again over the interview, Haff told MailOnline: "Yes. This interview could count as a new 'publication' under the law, which could spur a third lawsuit."
However, Haff added that it may not be worth Depp's while pursuing further legal action against Heard.
"Heard's lawyers have already stated that she cannot pay the original judgment," she said.
Elsewhere in the interview, Heard said the trial made her feel 'less than human'.
Describing the swathes of Depp fans lining the entrance to the Virginia court house, Heard said: "Every single day I passed three, four, sometimes six blocks, city blocks, lined with people holding signs saying: 'burn the witch', 'death to Amber'.
"After three-and-a-half weeks I took to the stand and saw just a courtroom packed, full, of Captain Jack Sparrow fans who were vocal."
A spokesperson for Heard said she took part in the interview to share her point of view and redress an imbalance in coverage.
In a statement shared with UNILAD, they said: "Johnny Depp's legal team blanketed the media for days after the verdict with numerous statements and interviews on television, and Depp himself did the same on social media.
"Ms. Heard simply intended to respond to what they aggressively did last week; she did so by expressing her thoughts and feelings, much of which she was not allowed to do on the witness stand."
Depp and Heard began dating after meeting on the set of 2011 film The Rum Diary and got married in 2015. Heard obtained a restraining order against Depp the following year and they finalised their divorce in 2017.
In 2020, Depp lost a libel case brought against The Sun over an article in which he was labelled a 'wife beater'.
He has denied all allegations of abuse.
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