Emotional Amber Heard hugs her family after hearing Johnny Depp verdict

1

View
comments

A jubilant Amber Heard beamed as she hugged friends and clutched a giant inflatable bottle of Champagne after her court victory against ex-husband Johnny Depp.

The actress celebrated the culmination of her acrimonious and long-running battle yesterday which saw her estranged husband labelled a ‘wife beater’ as he dramatically lost his fight in the British courts. 

Depp, 57, was branded a ‘monster’ by a judge who said he DID beat Amber 12 times as he lost his £5m ‘wife-beater’ libel trial against The Sun – a decision he plans to appeal. 

But 34-year-old Heard wasted no time in throwing a party at her home as friends brought balloons and even a giant inflatable bottle of bubbly. 

Looking teary-eyed, Amber’s family members could be seen congratulating the actress following the court ruling in her favour as she emerged in a white vest top with her hair tied back under a scarf. 

Johnny Depp now faces a desperate battle to salvage his career after losing his blockbuster libel case and being labelled a wife beater, according to a top celebrity crisis management expert.

Mark Borkowski said for the 57-year-old to resume his career would be the equivalent of ‘climbing Mt Everest without oxygen, barefoot and in his underpants’.

He said: ‘His reputation is in tatters. Having lost this libel case he will always be known as a wife beater. Whenever he is interviewed by a journalist, he will be asked about this and if he is a wife beater.

‘It does not get any worse for him. Hollywood is very corporate and risk adverse with its money. Those making film franchises will not want to take the risk. This is a personal disaster for him. For him to come back will be the equivalent of climbing Mt Everest without oxygen, in his underpants and barefoot. That’s how hard it will be.’  

Borkowski, who clients include Noel Edmunds and Led Zepplin star Jimmy Plant, said Depp’s one hope was his huge worldwide fan base who will support him despite the verdict in the High Court.

‘Don’t write him off just yet. He is still very popular, so I would never say never that he will come back. He has a huge fan base who will still support him.’

‘There is also the #MeToo movement and Hollywood is engaged in a cultural war. He might not get involved in the big blockbusters, but there are also smaller independent films.

Borkowski questioned the decision by Depp bring the case against The Sun newspaper.

‘I am sure he now regrets bringing this case but he obviously felt it was necessary.’

Other reputation management experts agreed that Depp faces the end of his career.

Steven Heffer, Head of Media and Privacy at law firm Collyer Bristow said: ‘Depp’s strategy was high risk and has proved an absolute disaster. It is often best not to risk all for these sort of legal cases. A better approach may have been to publish a public statement denying the allegations. 

‘That would have left question marks but would have avoided the disaster scenario. Nobody can be forced to bring a libel claim, and given the stormy background of the relationship it was probably unwise to do so.

‘Unfortunately for Depp, it is highly likely to have been a career-ending decision. What it does mean is that the future of the other legal actions is uncertain.’

Depp still faces a hearing in the America where he is suing his former wife for £39m in a defamation suit following a 2018 article for The Washington Post where she discussed domestic violence.

Depp had hoped a victory in the High Court in London would bolster his case which is not likely to be heard until 2021.

Amber Melville- Brown from law firm Withers said the libel defeat could see Depp drop the defamation suit. 

She said: ‘Johnny and Amber are set to meet again in the courts of Virginia, USA in May 2021 regarding a comment piece she wrote in the Washington Post – a piece that he says means that he is violent towards women. 

‘Not only will the extensive evidence in the case ‘over here’ be dissected by the attorneys ‘over there’ but this judgment may stop the US proceedings in its tracks.

‘While the accusations may be slightly different, the legal systems are even more so, and the burden of proof on the defendant in the label courts of England and Wales is much higher than it is in the US. 

‘Accordingly, Depp’s failure to convince a British judge to that higher standard may sink the American libel ship of Hollywood’s most famous pirate of the Caribbean.’

Phil Hall, who runs the PHA Group, said the only way back for Depp was to admit his mistakes.

He said: ‘There has to be a mea culpa and clean himself up, get off drink and drunks and show that he has changed. If he doesn’t do that then his career could be over.

‘There is no excuse for domestic violence. We have heard how it is on the increase worldwide due to lockdown, and he has to admit to his mistakes and show that he has changed.’

London based PHA represented Cliff Richard in his fight against misreporting by the BBC. 

One person could be seen carrying a champagne-shaped novelty balloon outside her LA home hours after she broke her silence to say she was ‘not surprised’ her ex lost his case.  

In his ruling the judge found Depp had attacked his ex-wife Heard a dozen times and said he accepted that the Pirates of the Caribbean actor became a ‘monster’ when he binged on drink and drugs. 

Depp called the judgment ‘perverse’ and ‘bewildering’ as he vowed the appeal the ruling after his high-stakes battle against his ex-wife Heard and The Sun newspaper. 

Following a blockbuster 16-day trial London‘s High Court Mr Justice Nicol said he accepted that the 57-year-old actor had hit Heard on 12 of the 14 times she had claimed. 

Jubilant Heard’s lawyers said today they were ‘not surprised’ by her stunning victory in which the judge found she had been beaten by the actor while he was out of control on cocaine, pills and booze. 

But Depp’s lawyers blasted the judge, saying, calling the ruling ‘as perverse as it is bewildering’. 

In a statement, the raging actor’s lawyers Schillings said: ‘Most troubling is the Judge’s reliance on the testimony of Amber Heard, and corresponding disregard of the mountain of counter-evidence from police officers, medical practitioners, her own former assistant, other unchallenged witnesses and an array of documentary evidence which completely undermined the allegations, point by point. All of this was overlooked. 

‘The judgment is so flawed that it would be ridiculous for Mr Depp not to appeal this decision.’ 

The result leaves Depp facing financial ruin, although neither party comes out of the tawdry spectacle completely untarnished as the court was told of allegations of drug-taking and infidelity on both sides.

Depp sued the Sun’s publisher, News Group Newspapers (NGN), and its executive editor, Dan Wootton, over an article published in the Sun in April 2018 that originally carried the headline ‘Gone Potty: How can JK Rowling be ‘genuinely happy’ casting wife beater Johnny Depp in the new Fantastic Beasts film?’

Heard, 34, who was the newspaper’s chief witness, tearfully told the court of 14 occasions during their toxic relationship when he assaulted her, providing graphic details of his drink and drugs-fuelled attacks.

Mr Justice Nicol threw out the fallen actor’s claim, saying the publisher had proved what was in the article to be ‘substantially true’.

The judge concluded that Depp had beaten a dozen times, beginning in 2013 when he slapped the actress across the face when she made a comment about a tattoo on his arm that he changed from ‘Winona Forever’ to ‘Wino Forever’ when he split up with Winona Ryder. 

Referring to that incident, Mr Justice Nicol said: ‘While Ms Heard had probably seen the tattoo many times before this incident in early 2013, that does not eliminate the possibility that a combination of factors (particularly Mr Depp’s consumption of alcohol and drugs) led him to react violently to a perceived slight by Ms Heard.’

The judge added that Heard calling Depp a monster while he was on drink and drugs was ‘not a figment of her imagination.’

He added: ‘I accept her evidence that Mr Depp used the term to refer to that part of his personality when, affected by drink and/or drugs he would do things which he would not otherwise do and of which he might have no recollection afterwards.’

He dismissed two allegations made by Heard in 2014 and 2015 – but said he couldn’t conclude she had been untruthful about it.

In dismissing Depp’s claims, the judge said: ‘The claimant has not succeeded in his action for libel.

‘Although he has proved the necessary elements of his cause of action in libel, the defendants have shown that what they published in the meaning which I have held the words to bear was substantially true.

‘I have reached these conclusions having examined in detail the 14 incidents on which the defendants rely as well as the overarching considerations which the claimant submitted I should take into account.’

Heard’s legal team are now looking ahead to a second, $50million libel suit in the US in May where Depp is suing Heard over a column she wrote on being the victim of domestic violence in the Washington Post. 

‘For those of us present for the London High Court trial, this decision and Judgment are not a surprise,’ they said in a statement.

‘Very soon, we will be presenting even more voluminous evidence in the U.S. We are committed to obtaining Justice for Amber Heard in the U.S. Court and defending Ms Heard’s Right to Free Speech.’

A spokesperson for the newspaper said: ‘The Sun has stood up and campaigned for the victims of domestic abuse for over 20 years.

‘Domestic abuse victims must never be silenced and we thank the judge for his careful consideration and thank Amber Heard for her courage in giving evidence to the court.’

The defeat leaves Depp, who told the court he had lost $650million through financial mismanagement at the height of his Pirates of the Caribbean fame, facing legal fees of £5million – with his costs estimated to be £3m and The Sun’s costs believed to be a fraction less at £2m. 

The Sun will now submit their costs for the case to the court and, as the loser, Depp will pick up the bill.

Meanwhile PR experts today warned the star faces an uphill battle to restore his battered reputation.

Mark Borkowski said for the star to resume his career would be the equivalent of ‘climbing Mt Everest without oxygen, barefoot and in his underpants’.

He said: ‘His reputation is in tatters. Having lost this libel case he will always be known as a wife beater. Whenever he is interviewed by a journalist, he will be asked about this and if he is a wife beater.

‘It does not get any worse for him. Hollywood is very corporate and risk adverse with its money. Those making film franchises will not want to take the risk. This is a personal disaster for him. For him to come back will be the equivalent of climbing Mt Everest without oxygen, in his underpants and barefoot. That’s how hard it will be.’

Borkowski, who clients include Noel Edmunds and Led Zepplin star Jimmy Plant, said Depp’s one hope was his huge worldwide fan base who will support him despite the verdict in the High Court.

‘Don’t write him off just yet. He is still very popular, so I would never say never that he will come back. He has a huge fan base who will still support him.’

The case has divided Depp and Heard fans, with the hashtag JusticeForJohnnyDepp trending on Twitter with supporters of the Hollywood icon claiming he had suffered a miscarriage of justice, while describing him as a survivor of ‘domestic violence.’

One passionate fan posted: ‘Proud of Johnny Depp standing strong against all the abusers, the corruption and the lies.’

Another fumed: ‘Despite the risks, Johnny Depp told the truth on the stand….Amber Heard lied unashamedly.’

One die-hard Depp fan fumed: ‘I’m so furious. My body doesn’t know how to react. The evidence was CRYSTAL CLEAR. The truth means nothing.’

While Depp’s fans dominated social media with their outbursts, Heard’s supporters were also making themselves heard.

One posted: ‘I, for one am happy for Amber Herd, after all she’s been through.’

Another said: ‘Justice is served, I just feel sad that Amber has to relive the trauma.’

During the dramatic three-week trial, fans were given a rare glimpse into the troubled life of one of Hollywood’s most flamboyant A-list couples as it heard a series of astonishing claims:  

• Depp admitting to taking large amounts of cocaine, which he insisted ‘brought him to a normal level,’ and drinking more than ‘normal’ people could; 
• Heard was accused of defecating in their marital bed;
• Heard was accused of having an affair with Tesla billionaire Elon Musk, which she denied, and that Depp threatened to cut his penis off;
• Depp lost a staggering $650 million (£502,000) he made at the height of his Pirates of the Caribbean fame and was left owing $100m (£77,000) in taxes;
• Depp admitted to spending $30,000 (£23,000) on red wine each month;
• Depp ‘attacked’ Heard over three days in Australia while on a drugs and booze bender;

Depp denied all the allegations, claiming all the Aquaman actress’s claims were a ‘hoax’ – and accused her of attacking him.

Depp’s description of his ex-wife as a ‘gold-digger’, was also thrown out by the judge, saying: ‘I do not accept this characterisation of Ms Heard.’ 

Both Depp and Heard gave evidence in what was dubbed ‘the libel trial of the century’ as the two traded accusations over who perpetrated the domestic violence during their stormy relationship.

They met on the set of ‘The Rum Diary,’ in 2009, married in February 2015 with Depp filing for divorce in May 2016.

The trial captivated the world’s attention amid stunning details about Depp’s drink and drugs binges, his huge spending and fragile finances and the couple’s jet-set life and toxic relationship relationship.

The High Court verdict is being seen as just a ‘first round’ victory for Heard with other legal battles looming against her ex-husband. Depp is also suing Heard for US$50 million (£39million) in a trial set to take place in the US next May after she wrote about being a domestic abuse survivor in a Washington Post article.

Heard is counter-suing him for an astonishing $100 million (£78million) saying that the fallen actor and his legal team have mounted a global smear campaign against her.

After meeting on the set of ‘The Rum Diary,’ in 2009, the couple married in February 2015, but their relationship rapidly deteriorated in the turbulent 15 months that followed – with their marital problems laid bare during the three-week court hearing.

Amid the claim and counter claim on both sides these were the key incidents between the warring pair: 

THE DEFECATION INCIDENT 

This came to be known as ‘poo-gate,’ and took place in Los Angeles in April 2016 during Heard’s 30th birthday party.

Depp told the court that he arrived two hours late, after receiving some bad news about his financial losses and that a row broke out between him and Heard.

She told that court that her ex-husband threw a magnum champagne bottle at her and shoved her to the floor several times before leaving a note reading ‘Happy F***ing Birthday’.

The next day, Depp alleged that he had been informed that Heard had defecated in their marital bed and told the building manager that it was ‘just a harmless prank.

He admitted in court that at first, he laughed about the incident, referring to his ex-wife as ‘Amber Turd,’ but it was around this point that he decided to divorce her and moved out of their penthouse.

Heard blamed their small dog Boo for the faeces and told the court that she would never do something so ‘absolutely disgusting.’

She claimed the dog had a problem with messing itself ‘since the weed’- claiming Boo ate a bag of Depp’s cannabis as a puppy.

The judge said today that Amber did not poo in the bed, saying it was more likely to have been one of the couple’s dogs. 

THE PHONE THROWING INCIDENT 

A month later in May 2016 Depp told the court that he returned to the penthouse to collect his belongings with his private security guards Jerry Judge and Sean Betts.

Heard said Depp became ‘very angry’, throwing her phone at her and hitting her in the eye before smashing ‘everything he could’ with a magnum of champagne after they started rowing over the defecation incident.

Depp claimed his two security guards entered the room when they heard Heard shouting, and saw her ‘repeatedly screaming, ‘stop hitting me, Johnny” while he was 20 feet away in the kitchen.

He also says that two police officers who attended the apartment after the incident ‘saw no injuries or bruising or swelling’.

Both officers also gave evidence via video link and claimed that they did not see Heard with any injuries. 

THE ‘SEVERED FINGER’ INCIDENT 

Depp was accused of repeatedly assaulting Heard after an argument over his use of MDMA during a three-day trip to Australia, while he was filming Pirates of the Caribbean. 

She told the court that he stayed up all night, taking pills and drinking, and then attacked her again the next morning.

The following night, he pushed her into a table tennis table, tore off her nightgown and attacked her, before smashing a telephone into a wall and severing the top of his middle finger.

The court was shown photographs of a mansion they were staying in, which Heard claimed Depp daubed with graffiti using his blood and smashed up parts of it up.

She claims he wrote messages to her around the house in a mixture of paint and blood from his finger – which Mr Depp admitted doing while ‘in shock’ – as well as having ‘urinated all over the house in an attempt to write messages.’

Depp claimed that it was Heard who was violent, throwing a bottle at him which severed the top of his finer and stubbing a cigarette out on his cheek, resulting in him being taken to hospital. 

THE LATE LATE SHOW 

The High Court was also played excerpts of Heard’s appearance on The Late, Late Show with James Corden in December 2015.

Twenty-four hours before the show she claimed that Depp slapped her, dragged her by the hair through their apartment – pulling clumps of her hair out – and then repeatedly punched her in the head, leaving her with ‘tons of injuries’ including bruised ribs and arms, bruises all over her body, two black eyes, a broken nose and a broken lip.

When asked by Depp’s lawyer Eleanor Laws QC why none of the injuries to her face were visible when she appeared on live television, Heard replied that she had covered them up with makeup. 

THE PLANE INCIDENT 

Depp and Heard took a private plane from Boston to LA. She claimed that during that time he was drinking heavily, threw objects at her, pushed a chair at her, slapped her and kicked her in the back before passing out in the toilet.

Depp says Heard ‘began to harangue him’ as he was sketching in a notebook, he then tried to ‘playfully tap her on the bottom with his foot’, at which Miss Heard took ‘great offence’ and continued to verbally berate him.

The court was also played an audio recording taken during the incident. During the 18-second clip a woman’s voice can be heard saying ‘keep an eye on him,’ while what sounds like a man makes long, low moans.

While giving evidence, Depp did not confirm that it was him but admitted that he could not remember anybody else making that noise on the plane.

He described the noise as sounding ‘like an animal in pain,’ to which Sasha Wass QC, the Sun’s lawyer responded: ‘I think you are that animal.’

‘DISCO BLOODBATH’ INCIDENT 

The court was also shown photographs of Heard’s trashed LA home taken in March 2013. She claimed that the actor became angry and jealous when she had hung a painting, by her ex-partner Tasya Van Ree, by her bed.

Depp was also accused of trying to set it on fire and hitting Heard so hard that blood from her lip ended up on the wall.

Depp maintained that he simply asked Heard to move the painting from the bedroom ‘as a courtesy’ and that she had an ‘extreme reaction’. 

He also says a text he sent later, describing the evening as a ‘disco bloodbath’, was designed to placate Heard and not an apology for alleged violence.

AUSTRALIA DOG SMUGGLING INCIDENT 

Heard was accused of forcing two of Depp’s staff to lie about their two dogs being taken to Australia in April 2015, despite them repeatedly telling her that it was not legal for them to be taken.

Kevin Murphy, who worked for the Pirates of the Caribbean star for almost eight years, alleged that Heard had ‘demanded’ he make a false statement about the animals being ‘smuggled’ into the country.

He also alleged in a statement that she had asked him to contact her former assistant Kate James and ask her to lie under oath to an Australian court.

In October 2015 Heard faced criminal proceedings in Australia for taking the couple’s two Yorkshire terriers, Pistol and Boo, into the country illegally.

She and Depp recorded a now-famous video in 2016 apologising for doing so.

Murphy claim that he was put ‘under pressure’ by Heard for making a false statement, which he later retracted once she and Depp split.

Following today’s ruling, attention now turns to two looming legal battles between Depp and Heard which could shaped by this judgement. 

Depp is pursuing Heard for damages in the US for defamation with the case expected to take place next May.

The actor was not mentioned by name in a 2018 Washington Post article Heard wrote about being a domestic abuse survivor but he claims that it implies that he was violent towards her.

He is to appear before Heard’s lawyers next week over three days to give his testimony and will break off from filming in the UK for the third Fantastic Beasts film to travel to the US.

He was ordered to appear by a US judge after Heard’s team accused him of trying to avoid presenting his testimony to them.

Following the High Court ruling, Depp’s legal team will now be seriously re-examining the US case, as it will hear the same evidence that was presented in the London trial and from the same witnesses.

Heard will be delighted by the ruling for personal reasons and because it considerably reinforces her own legal case against Depp, which she started three months ago.

In a separate case, the actress is suing her ex-husband saying that he has mounted a global smear campaign against her.

In her claim, filed to a US court in August, Heard accuses Depp of using fake social media accounts and trolls to tarnish her name and ruin her career.

She also accuses him of being violent towards her, citing many of the incidents that appeared in The Sun libel trial and which were upheld by a High Court judge.

No date has yet been set for the trial.

‘Team Heard’: The squad of ‘strong, positive women’ who supported Amber in court  every day of the trial including top lawyer and her girlfriend who’s fighting cancer

By Rebecca Davison and Paul Thompson and Vivek Chaudhary For Mailonline

Amber Heard was surrounded with a powerful group of women who supported her every day through her blockbuster libel trial with Johnny Depp.

The 34-year-old actress partied with the glamorous women, dubbed ‘Team Heard’ who are rallying around her for the case, making eye-catching entrances each morning for the start of proceedings and organising a string of social outings.

‘Team Heard’ was made up of her sister Whitney, girlfriend Bianca Butti, British legal advisor Jennifer Robinson, who is friends with the Clooneys, American attorney Elaine Bredehoft and the actress’ assistant Sara, whose last name is not known.

Meanwhile, Depp was locked away in a plush hotel suite dining alone because rules prevented him from discussing the case with anybody while he was giving evidence. 

A source told MailOnline: ‘The trial was quite a contrasting experience for both of them. While Johnny has been alone and looking quite miserable, Amber appears to be having a great time. She looks really glamorous and happy. It’s as if she’s on a girl’s holiday.

‘The women she was with really got behind her. They’re strong, positive women who were delighted with the way things went. 

Here, FEMAIL reveals who’s who in the squad of ‘strong, positive women’ who accompanied Heard to court every day…   

The sister: Whitney Heard

Amber and Whitney Heard grew up together in Austin, Texas, and are known to have a close relationship. 

Whitney is also an actress. She appeared in a minor role in the 2007 caveman comedy Homo Erectus, which featured actors Adam Rifkin and Final Destination star Ali Larter.

The mother-of-one currently lives in Los Angeles with her family, her partner Gavin Henriquez, and their son Hunter, who was born in December 2019.

Amber and Whitney’s father David Clinton Heard, owned a small construction company while their mother, Patricia Paige (nee Parsons) worked as an Internet researcher.

In May, Amber shared her ‘heartbreak’ as she revealed that her mother Paige had died. ‘I am heartbroken and devastated beyond belief at the loss of my mom, Paige Heard,’ she said in an Instagram post.

‘The kindness, support and generosity my sister Whit and I have received from friends and family has been utterly soul-saving,’ she added. 

The girlfriend: Bianca Butti

Bianca Butti, 38, is a cinematographer living in Los Angeles. Heard and Butti have been dating since January – and the couple already seem quite attached, with sources calling Amber ‘happier than ever.’

‘Amber is fine and happier than ever,’ an insider told Us Weekly back in February. ‘Bianca has been very supportive of her, and Amber feels like she can trust her and be comfortable around her, especially since they were friends first.’

That source added that Heard is ‘enjoying spending time’ with Butti, and has even gone as far as to say she ‘really loves her.’ 

Last year, Miss Butti revealed she had been diagnosed with breast cancer for a second time, and bravely documented her struggles on an Instagram page, @buttibeatsit.

In a note on the page, Butti explained how she was first diagnosed with the disease in 2015 when she was just 34 years old, and that it was confirmed to have returned in March 2019.

‘I was beyond devastated,’ she wrote on Instagram. ‘A new tumour appeared in my right breast, almost 3 years since I was declared cancer free.’

For the first diagnosis she underwent a traditional western treatment of chemotherapy, surgery and radiation. Now, after extensive research and personal experience, she has decided to seek more alternative treatments.

Butti’s career as a cinematographer includes several episodes of Love & Hip Hop: Atlanta that aired in 2013, the upcoming Bella Thorne movie Leave Not One Alive, the thriller Uncanny and a few other independent films and shorts.

The lawyer: Jennifer Robinson

Jennifer Robinson, who held Amber Heard’s hand as she walked into the High Court on the first day, is a leading human rights lawyer from Doughty Street chambers who also represents Julian Assange.

The Australian has appeared at the International Court of Justice and given expert evidence at the UN and in Parliament. 

Her areas of expertise are free speech and civil liberties, and she regularly advises newspapers on media law. 

Ms Robinson is a close friend of Amal Clooney and attended her wedding to George in 2014, where she was asked to carry out bridesmaid duties. She arrived via Venice in a boat with fellow guest Bill Murray.

In 2017, she was seen canoodling with Jeremy Corbyn’s former spin doctor Seumas Milne – with her father later telling MailOnline that his daughter was just enjoying a night out and a ‘few drinks’ with a friend.

Her father Terry, a horse trainer from New South Wales, insisted his daughter is a ‘good girl’ who has been in a ‘few relationships’ but dismissed suggestions that she was having an affair with the married father-of-two.

In 2011 she gave an interview about her private life and described herself as ‘passionate’ and ‘infinitely curious’, and said: ‘My friends would probably add, ‘the eternal optimist’ or ‘a bit bonkers’.’

She admitted that while being serious as a proud Australian she enjoys ‘taking the p**s’ and said she swears too much.

Ms Robinson also confessed that she ‘partied’ a lot when she was younger. She said: ‘London has too much fun on offer to be stuck at your desk all day and night’. 

And responding to a question about the contents of her London fridge she said: ‘Nothing but a few bottles of champagne (and maybe a mouldy piece of cheese)’ because she so rarely eats at home.

She was also asked: ‘What comes into your mind when you shut your eyes and think of the word ‘law’?’ and replied: ‘Jude’ – a reference to the British actor.