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Ben Chew and Camille Vasquez, two of the lawyers who represented Johnny Depp in his recent highly-publicized trial, say “social media played no role whatsoever” in the jury’s decision to find Amber Heard guilty of defamation against her ex-husband. The attorneys appeared on both Good Morning America and The Today Show Wednesday morning to discuss the trial, which ended last week with both Depp and Heard receiving compensatory damages — though Depp’s sum was over $8 million more than Heard’s. “Social media played no role whatsoever [in the jury’s verdict],” Chew told GMA’s George Stephanopoulos. “This was a decision made by the jury on the evidence presented by both sides, and as Camille said [earlier in the interview], it was overwhelmingly in Mr. Depp’s favor.” Depp and Heard’s ...

While the trial for Johnny Depp’s $50 million defamation lawsuit against his ex-wife Amber Heard seemed to completely consume the American pop culture conversation during its six-week proceedings, the case was not compelling enough to hold the attention of the actual jurors deliberating it. In an interview with Law & Crime Network, which livestreamed the entire trial, the court-appointed stenographer Judy Bellinger revealed what the multi-camera set-up evidently did not capture: “There were a few jurors dozing off… It was tough,” she said. “There was a lot of video deposition and they’d just sit there and all of a sudden I’d see their heads drop.” Bellinger began by her sharing her perspective on the jury selection process before acknowledging potential, arguably more deserving, a...

Johnny Depp and Amber Heard have both issued statements in reaction to the verdict in their dueling defamation cases. After six grueling weeks of testimony, cross-examination, and scandalous allegations levied by both sides, a jury found Heard guilty of defamation against her ex-husband, Depp. “False, very serious and criminal allegations were levied at me via the media, which triggered an endless barrage of hateful content, although no charges were ever brought against me. It had already traveled around the world twice within a nanosecond and it had a seismic impact on my life and my career. And six year later, the jury gave me my life back. I am truly humbled,” Depp said in a statement reacting to the jury’s decision. “My decision to pursue this case, knowing very well the heig...

The verdict is in. After six grueling weeks of testimony, cross-examination, and scandalous allegations levied by both sides, a jury has found Amber Heard guilty of defamation against ex-husband Johnny Depp. The jury awarded Depp $10 million in compensatory damages and an additional $5 million in punitive damages. But in the state of Virginia where the trial was held, punitive damages are capped at $350,000, and after the jury’s ruling was read out, Judge Penney Azcarate lowered the punitive damages to match. Depp’s total award is then $10.35 million. He had sought $50 million. The jury also weighed in on Heard’s $100 million countersuit, elements of which were awarded in her favor. The jury granted Heard $2 million total, all for compensatory damages, with no punitive damages assessed. Ad...

Kate Moss took the stand virtually on Wednesday in the $50 million Johnny Depp–Amber Heard defamation trial, pushing back against a rumor that her ex-boyfriend had shoved her down the stairs and undermining Heard’s testimony on the incident. The supermodel only spoke for a few minutes, with Heard’s defense team declining to cross-examine her, The Hollywood Reporter and Deadline reported. “He never pushed me, kicked me or threw me down any kind of stairs,” Moss said via video link from Gloucester, England. “As I left the room, I slid down the stairs and I hurt my back. And I screamed because I didn’t know what happened to me, and I was in pain. He came running back to help me and carried me to my room and got me medical attention.” Advertisement Related Video Depp and Mo...

The ongoing Johnny Depp–Amber Heard defamation trial centers on Depp’s claim that Heard’s abuse-detailing Washington Post op-ed hurt his career, but according to the actor’s former agent, Depp did much of that on his own. In her testimony, United Talent Agency’s Tracey Jacobs claimed that Depp’s “unprofessional behavior,” including lateness and substance abuse, made Hollywood studios reluctant to cast him in recent years. Though Depp long reigned as  “the biggest star in the world,” “His star had dimmed due to it getting harder to get him jobs given the reputation he had acquired due to his lateness and other things,” Jacobs said. At one point, the actor even began relying on an earpiece to have his lines fed to him. “Crews don’t love sitting around for hours and hours waiti...