A member of the jury in the defamation lawsuit between amber heard and Johnny Depp described her tears as crocodile tears, believing Heard’s testimony failed to persuade the panel.
ABC’s Good Morning America aired an unidentified interview with the juror. The panel consisted of five men and two women, and the discussions occurred this Thursday. The juror observed that Heard’s crying, facial expressions, and the way she looked at the jurors left many feeling uncomfortable. The source pointed to Heard’s lengthy statements, broadcast live on the Internet, as a focal point of the deliberations.
The juror noted that Heard could answer questions with tears and then switch to a calm, distant tone within moments. He described the negotiations among the seven jurors and how certain moments were interpreted during the proceedings.
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Some jurors used the phrase crocodile tears to describe Heard’s emotional displays during the case. The juror spoke about cross-charges concerning abuse and violence, indicating that both sides had instances they believed supported their respective narratives. He commented on a published article about Depp’s unnamed domestic abuse, which influenced the jury’s conclusion regarding damages, with Heard being asked to contribute more than ten million dollars by the court in response to defamation claims.
He argued that neither side presented conclusive evidence to prove every assertion. He emphasized that fame did not automatically sway the judges, insisting that the panel did not simply follow public opinion or celebrity status. The juror rejected the notion that social media momentum affected the outcome, stating that the jurors focused on the evidence presented and the gravity of the accusations and the financial stakes involved.
Television Interview
This week another network, NBC, began airing excerpts from an interview with Heard. The network has not indicated whether it will appeal the verdict but suggested the jurors were impressed by the evidence. Heard suggested that the jurors spent more than three weeks listening to live testimonies from witnesses and members of the public who testified near the end of the trial. She added that she did not blame the jury and understood their position, noting that Depp is a highly recognized actor and that public perception can feel like a force beyond the courtroom.
Depp responded by characterizing the jurors as individuals who weighed the facts carefully and followed the evidence. He acknowledged the high profile of the case and the intense public interest surrounding it, but asserted that the jurors acted based on what they observed during the proceedings.
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In the first legal action related to the case, Depp had sought fifty million dollars in damages for a 2018 article in The Washington Post in which Heard described herself as a survivor of domestic abuse without naming Depp. Following the trial, Depp was ordered to pay ten million dollars in damages and an additional five million in punitive damages. A Virginia judge later reduced the final amount to three hundred fifty thousand dollars due to state caps. The court’s ruling also noted that Heard would not owe the full ten million if a separate claim by Depp’s former attorney, deemed insulting to Heard, resulted in a two million dollar award against that attorney rather than Heard herself.
Overall, the case underscored how defamation disputes in high-profile situations hinge on the presentation of evidence, credibility assessments, and the legal standards for proving harm to reputation. The proceedings demonstrated the challenges jurors face when evaluating complex allegations and the responsibility to separate public sentiment from a careful weighing of facts in the courtroom. The outcome reflected a careful balancing of competing narratives and the need to adhere to statutory limitations and legal definitions in determining damages.