Johnny Depp verdict live: Amber Heard fans accuse court reporter of bias for ‘partying’ with Pirates actor

Heard’s sister, Whitney Henriquez, took to Instagram on Sunday to say she was “proud” of the Aquaman actor despite last week’s verdict.

“Yesterday, today and tomorrow, I will always be proud of you for standing up for yourself, for testifying both here in Virginia and in the UK, and for being the voice of so many who cannot speak about the things that happen behind closed doors,” Henriquez, who testified at the trial, wrote.

“We knew this was going to be a tough battle and the cards were against us. But you got up and spoke anyway.

The Independents Annabel Nugent reports:

Depp and Jeff Beck racked up a huge bill at an Indian restaurant in Birmingham after the actor won a libel suit.

On Sunday June 5, the couple closed the Varanasi restaurant to the public as they were reportedly joined by 20 other friends to share a meal.

According TMZthe restaurant’s operations manager, Mohammed Hussain, said Depp’s final bill was around £50,000 ($60,000) in total.

In an Instagram post, the restaurant shared some photos, along with a caption that read, “The most talked about person on the planet right now joined us for dinner last night!”

The Independents Inga Parkel reports:

Abused women watch as all of this happens. They learn that their silence is the safest option.

The rapper said he had been “busy doing Snoop Dogg” and therefore hadn’t been following the high-profile case, but hoped others could “be better, with or without the others”.

Press Association Reports:

Fans of the estranged couple have exhaustively documented every move and mannerism of Depp and Heard in court, their lawyers’ arguments, the judge’s interventions and a slew of colorful testimonies on TikTok, Instagram and Twitter, cutting out what might have been amount to dry court proceedings into a spectator sport.

All of this has raised disapproving eyebrows in some quarters, with concerns expressed that the real issue at the heart of the matter, domestic violencegot lost in what became a tacky viral soap opera.

While those reviews are more than valid, there’s no doubt that the trial provided an extraordinary spectacle and an unforgettable cast of supporting characters who found themselves unlikely cult celebrities.

Some spectators who attended the libel trial between Johnny Depp and Amber Heard in Fairfax County, Virginia, now sell their paper wristbands online.

Sheriffs at the Fairfax County Courthouse handed out wristbands as a crowd control measure during the high-profile trial, which drew large numbers of Depp vocal fans especially.

Several people who have been admitted to the courthouse are now selling these colour-coded disposable paper wristbands – stamped with their date of entry – on auction sites like eBay for up to $5,000 (£4,000).

The stenographer who chronicled Depp and Heard’s defamation lawsuit has been engulfed in a social media storm after footage of her hugging the Pirates actor went viral.

In the video, court reporter Judy Bellinger was seen hugging Depp after the two sides presented their closing arguments on May 27.

Ms Bellinger was forced to defend herself after Heard supporters claimed the footage was evidence of bias.

The Independents Gustaf Kilander reports:

A lawyer representing Amber Heard in his defamation suit against Johnny Depp spoke out after the verdict to say “an enormous amount of evidence was suppressed” during the weeks-long trial.

Lawyer Elaine Bredehoft appeared on Today’s show Thursday morning, a few hours after a jury finds Ms Heard defamed Mr Depp on the three counts in his lawsuit against her regarding a 2018 op-ed she wrote in the Washington Post to be a victim of domestic violence.

The jury also ruled in favor of one of Ms. Heard’s three countersuit demands, determining that Mr. Depp’s attorney had called her abuse allegations against her ex-husband a hoax.

Amber Heardlawyer says her client won’t be able to pay the millions in damages she owes to Johnny Depp after a jury determined she defamed her estranged husband during the weeks-long trial.

Speaking a day after the verdict was delivered, attorney Elaine Bredehoft told Savannah Guthri during her appearance on NBCit is Today’s show that his client is “absolutely unable” to pay the $8.35 million in damages that the Pirates of the Caribbean the actor won after a jury deliberated for three days after the closely watched and widely panned trial.

Johanna Chisholm reports:

Depp prevailed in his $50m (£40m) defamation lawsuit against his ex-wife Amber Heard on domestic abuse charges last week.

A seven-person civil jury in Virginia found that Ms Heard defamed the Pirates of the Caribbean and fantastic beasts star when she implied he abused her in a 2018 op-ed for The Washington Post.

The jury also upheld one of Ms Heard’s three claims in a $100million countersuit against Mr Depp and his lawyer, who called her initial allegations in 2016 an ‘ambush’ and ‘hoax’. .

Neither side got the full amount they wanted.