What Will Happen to Amber if She Can’t Afford to Pay Johnny’s $10M in Damages & if She Could Go to Jail
(Image Credit: Getty Images)
Since the trial concluded, there has been speculation about what will happen to Amber Heard following Johnny Depp’s verdict and win in their defamation case.
From 2015 to 2016, Depp and Heard were married. After 15 months of marriage, Heard filed for divorce in May 2016. She also obtained a temporary restraining order against Depp in her divorce filing, claiming that he abused her while under the influence of drugs and alcohol.
Depp denied the allegations and a $7 million out-of-court settlement was reached in August 2016. Heard stated that the money would be donated to the ACLU and the Children’s Hospital of Los Angeles.
“Our relationship was intensely passionate and at times volatile, but always bound by love. Neither party has made false accusations for financial gain. There was never any intent of physical or emotional harm,” the two aid in a joint statement at the time.
Heard wrote an op-ed in The Washington Post in 2018 about her experience with domestic abuse. While she did not specifically mention Depp, many assumed the post was about her ex-husband.
In 2019, Depp sued Heard for $50 million in defamation, claiming that the op-ed cost him roles in Walt Disney Pictures Pirates of the Caribbean franchise and Warner Bros. Pictures Fantastic Beasts series. For her part, Heard countersued Depp for $100 million.
The trial began in April 2022 and ended in June 2022, when a seven-person jury comprised of five men and two women found Heard liable on all three counts of defamation in her lawsuit with Depp. The jury convicted Depp of $15 million in compensatory and punitive damages, for a total of $15 million.
Depp, for his part, was found guilty by a jury of one count of defamation against Heard and ordered to pay her $2 million in compensatory damages and $0 in punitive damages for a total of $2 million.
Due to Virginia state law’s punitive damages cap, Judge Penney Azcarate reduced Heard’s punitive damages from $5 million to $350000.
If Heard and Depp’s damages are offset, Heard must pay Depp a total of $8.35 million in damages, including the $2 million in compensatory damages he owes her.
Given that Heard’s net worth is $8 million, there are questions about what will happen to Amber Heard now if she is unable to pay Depp’s damages. So, what happens to Amber Heard now that Johnny Depp has been convicted and won their defamation case?
