‘Nail in the coffin’: Moment that killed off Amber Heard’s case

Experts have revealed why Johnny Depp won the defamation trial, with one moment being the “nail in the coffin” for Amber Heard.

Amber Heard. Picture: Evelyn Hockstein/AFP

Actor Johnny Depp today won his six-week defamation trial against ex-wife Amber Heard, with a jury ruling that Heard did indeed defame her husband with a 2018 Washington Post op-ed revealing that she had been a victim of domestic abuse.
The decision, reached today in the Fairfax County Court in Virginia, will see Heard, 36, have to pay $US15 million ($A21 million) in damages to Depp, 58. Of that, $US10 million ($A14 million) is in compensatory damages and $US5 million ($A7 million) in punitive damages. However, Virginia law only allows punitive damages up to a maximum of $US350,000 ($A490,000), meaning Depp was awarded a total of $US10.35 million ($A14.4 million).

It’s a stunning loss for Heard, who described the verdict as a “setback” for women in the post-MeToo era in a statement released shortly after the jury announced its verdict.

“The disappointment I feel today is beyond words. I’m heartbroken that the mountain of evidence still was not enough to stand up to the disproportionate power, influence and sway of my ex-husband,” Heard said.

Experts reveal why Depp won

Depp won his bombshell defamation case against Heard because the jury ultimately didn’t believe she was telling the truth — especially under cross examination, legal experts told The New York Post.

“The case was going to rise and fall on her credibility more than any nuanced legal question. And she just did not make it through the trial with her credibility intact,” said former California judge Halim Dhanidina.

“The fact that she emerged from cross examination in essence defeated without any remaining credibility — that was the lynchpin in the case for me,” he said.

Dhanidina, who is also a current Los Angeles criminal defense attorney, said jurors likely thought the 36-year-old actress was lying about the abuse she claimed to have suffered at the hands of the 58-year-old.

The jury ultimately thought, “She was lying about [Depp] on purpose because she had a bone to pick with him. And that, to me, is the take away on this trial,” Dhanidina said.

Beverly Hills entertainment attorney Mitra Ahouraian, said the Aquaman actress likely also struck jurors as disingenuous on the stand.

Stream more entertainment news live & on demand with Flash. 25+ news channels in 1 place. New to Flash? Try 1 month free. Offer ends 31 October, 2022 >

Model Kate Moss giving evidence via video link.

“The jury found her to be either inauthentic, overacting or not deserving of empathy,” said Ahourain, whose clients include actors, directors and writers.

“A lot of Heard’s emotional cues on the witness stand didn’t line up with her testimony. She would get very impassioned at weird times or make awkward attempts to connect with the jury by speaking to them directly,”she said.

It also hurt her case that she failed to keep her story straight during some points of the trial, Ahourain said.

Texas civil attorney Katherine Lizardo added that testimony from Depp’s ex-girlfriend, supermodel Kate Moss, “was a nail in the coffin” for Heard.

Moss testified that Depp had never thrown her down a set of stairs, like Heard had claimed — injuring Heard’s “credibility,” Lizardo said.

Heard’s lawyer ‘too confident’

Amber Heard and her lawyers Elaine Bredehoft (left) and Benjamin Rottenborn. Picture: Evelyn Hockstein/AFP

A source familiar with Heard’s legal strategy told the New York Post they thought Heard’s lawyer Elaine Bredehoft was “too confident” which led to her client’s downfall.

“From the beginning, Elaine was very, very confident. They thought Depp’s ‘burn email’ was enough to prove the case

“They were too confident and they screwed up – their team was out-dumped,” the source told the Post.

They’re referring to a message Depp wrote about Heard, introduced in court, which read: “Let’s drown her before we burn her.”

There’s no question Heard’s legal team was overshadowed by Depp’s team of lawyers, led by Camille Vasquez, who became a social media celebrity in her own right through the trial – reflecting just how much the legal process had been turned into entertainment fodder for celeb-watchers.

What now for Amber?

The court battle has already taken a heavy toll on Heard’s career. Picture: Evelyn Hockstein/AFP

The Aquaman actress proclaimed her court loss as a setback for all women in a statement released after verdict was handed down.

“I’m even more disappointed with what this verdict means for other women,” she said.

“It sets back the clock to a time when a woman who spoke up and spoke out could be publicly shamed and humiliated. It sets back the idea that violence against women is to be taken seriously.”

The very public trial was certainly damaging for both parties: The court heard tapes of Heard admitting to “hitting” her ex-husband, while it also emerged she didn’t donate her $US7 million ($A9.7 million) divorce settlement to charity despite twice publicly claiming she did.

As for her career, we already know her role in Aquaman 2 has been significantly reduced. Some reports suggest she only appears for 10 minutes.

But Heard said her career was already beginning to suffer before the verdict, claiming Depp launched a “smear campaign” against her in the press painting her as a liar, which affected her opportunities.

She testified she had only recently shot one “small independent film”, for which she was paid $US92,000 ($A128,000).

This is in stark comparison to her $US2.8 million ($A3.9 million) Aquaman pay cheque.

Right now, though, Heard insists the loss she’s feeling most is the right to free speech.

“I’m sad I lost this case,” she said in the statement.

“But I am sadder still that I seem to have lost a right I thought I had as an American – to speak freely and openly.”