Amber Heard attorney calls Johnny Depp's lawsuit win a 'major setback' for women, cites 'suppressed evidence'
Press Briefing by Press Secretary Jen Psaki
2022-06-03
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Attorney Elaine Bredehoft sounded off on "CBS Mornings" and NBC's "TODAY" show Thursday, one day after the defamation trial between actor Johnny Depp and actress Amber Heard concluded, and turned the verdict into a message about women and domestic abuse accusations going forward.
In her CBS appearance, Heard's attorney described Depp's win as a "major setback for women," citing the actress's "enormous amount of evidence" and telling hosts Gayle King, Tony Dukoupil and Nate Burleson that a lot of that evidence was "suppressed."
"Look at all the women who have no evidence," Bredehoft said, adding, "Basically, what this jury said is unless you pull out your cell phone, and you tape record your spouse beating you, you’re out of luck."
The attorney also took to both channels to discuss the sway social media had on the jury's decision, telling NBC's "TODAY" show that the jurors undoubtedly witnessed the social media frenzy surrounding the high-profile case because "they have families" and personal lives, too.
"They went home every night. They have families. The families are on social media. We had a 10-day break in the middle because of the judicial conference. There’s no way they couldn’t have been influenced by it," she said.
Bredehoft also told CBS she believes Depp's celebrity status is a significant factor behind his win.
"It’s a tale two of trials," she said, tying in the trial Depp brought forth in the United Kingdom. "All the evidence came in, in the U.K. Mr. Depp brought that one. The burden of proof was on The Sun in the U.K. because they had called him a wife beater and talked about the domestic violence."
"He had his opportunity to tell the truth then, and the three-week trial, he lost. The judge found 12 acts of violence including sexual violence. That came out in November of 2020. We weren’t allowed to tell the jury that," she added.
On both networks, Bredehoft recounted the words Heard allegedly muttered in the trial's aftermath, saying, "'I am so sorry to all those women out there'," and told NBC that "[Heard] feels the burden of that."
During her CBS interview, King noted Heard's live TV testimony was significant, bouncing off Bredehoft's previous lamentation that social media voices helped sway the jury.
"It was pointed out that was the first time that a victim of sexual abuse had to testify on live television," King said.
"And I fought hard and lost that battle. It should not have happened," Bredehoft responded.
In her CBS appearance, Heard's attorney described Depp's win as a "major setback for women," citing the actress's "enormous amount of evidence" and telling hosts Gayle King, Tony Dukoupil and Nate Burleson that a lot of that evidence was "suppressed."
"Look at all the women who have no evidence," Bredehoft said, adding, "Basically, what this jury said is unless you pull out your cell phone, and you tape record your spouse beating you, you’re out of luck."
The attorney also took to both channels to discuss the sway social media had on the jury's decision, telling NBC's "TODAY" show that the jurors undoubtedly witnessed the social media frenzy surrounding the high-profile case because "they have families" and personal lives, too.
"They went home every night. They have families. The families are on social media. We had a 10-day break in the middle because of the judicial conference. There’s no way they couldn’t have been influenced by it," she said.
Bredehoft also told CBS she believes Depp's celebrity status is a significant factor behind his win.
"It’s a tale two of trials," she said, tying in the trial Depp brought forth in the United Kingdom. "All the evidence came in, in the U.K. Mr. Depp brought that one. The burden of proof was on The Sun in the U.K. because they had called him a wife beater and talked about the domestic violence."
"He had his opportunity to tell the truth then, and the three-week trial, he lost. The judge found 12 acts of violence including sexual violence. That came out in November of 2020. We weren’t allowed to tell the jury that," she added.
On both networks, Bredehoft recounted the words Heard allegedly muttered in the trial's aftermath, saying, "'I am so sorry to all those women out there'," and told NBC that "[Heard] feels the burden of that."
During her CBS interview, King noted Heard's live TV testimony was significant, bouncing off Bredehoft's previous lamentation that social media voices helped sway the jury.
"It was pointed out that was the first time that a victim of sexual abuse had to testify on live television," King said.
"And I fought hard and lost that battle. It should not have happened," Bredehoft responded.
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