ACTRESS Amber Heard is unable to pay ex-husband Johnny Depp more than US$10 million (RM43 million) in damages, said her lawyer yesterday, after a United States jury took the side of the Pirates of the Caribbean star in a bitter defamation trial.

The lengthy, high-profile televised court battle ended on Wednesday, when a seven-person jury found that Depp and Heard defamed each other, but weighed in far more strongly with Depp.

The jury awarded him US$10.35 million in damages, in contrast with Heard’s US$2 million.

On whether Heard will be able to pay up, her lawyer Elaine Bredehoft answered: “Oh no, absolutely not.”

She told NBC’s Today show that her client wants to appeal the verdict.

Depp, who lost a libel case against The Sun tabloid in London in 2020 for calling him a “wife-beater”, celebrated the split verdict in the case as a victory, while Heard said she is “heartbroken”.

Depp sued Heard over an op-ed she wrote for The Washington Post in December 2018, in which she described herself as a “public figure representing domestic abuse”.

The Texas-born, who had a starring role in Aquaman, did not name her ex-husband in the piece, but he sued her for implying he is a domestic abuser and sought US$50 million in damages.

Heard countersued for US$100 million, saying she was defamed by statements made by Depp’s lawyer, Adam Waldman, who told the Daily Mail her abuse claims were a “hoax”.

Bredehoft said Depp’s legal team worked to “demonise” Heard and suppressed crucial evidence in the trial, preventing the jurors from examining evidence of Depp’s alleged abuse.

“A number of things were allowed in this court that should not have been allowed, and it caused the jury to be confused.”

She said the ruling bodes ill for the MeToo movement and will discourage women from reporting sexual abuse and harassment.

“It is a horrible message. It is a significant setback because that is exactly what it means.

“Unless you pull out your phone and video your spouse or your significant other beating you, effectively you will not be believed.”

Depp welcomed the verdict, saying in a statement that “the jury gave me my life back”.

“The best is yet to come and a new chapter has finally begun.” – AFP, June 3, 2022.