Whitney shared a lengthy statement of support for Amber Heard (Picture: Randy Shropshire/Getty Images for Art of Elysium)
Amber Heard’s sister Whitney has stood by her sibling after Johnny Depp won his defamation lawsuit against the actress.
The Pirates Of The Caribbean actor, 58, filed a $50million (£39m) lawsuit against his ex-wife Amber, 36 – who he was married to from 2015 before Amber filed for divorce in 2016 – over an article she wrote in the Washington Post in 2018, discussing her experience with domestic abuse.
His legal team argued that it implied he was physically and sexually abusive during their relationship, despite not being named in the op-ed. Amber countersued for $100m (£79m) in return. After a six-week trial – which saw Whitney testify on the stand – and 13 hours of deliberation, a jury ruled in favour of Johnny last Wednesday, awarding him $10m (£7m) in compensatory damages and a further $5m (£3.9) in punitive damages, bringing a total of $15m (£11m).
Judge Penney Azcarate reduced the actor’s $5m punitive damages to instead award $350,000 (£278K), the maximum in Virginia, while Johnny also has to pay Amber the $2m (£1.5m) in compensatory damages she was awarded, so he, therefore, walks away with $8.35m (£6.6m) in overall damages.
Speaking out for the first time following the verdict, Whitney shared her pride for Amber ‘standing up’ for herself and being a ‘voice of so many who can’t speak’.
In a lengthy Instagram statement shared on Sunday, Whitney wrote: ‘I still stand with you, sissy. 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 can’t speak to the things that happen behind closed doors.
https://www.instagram.com/p/Ceb0d6uuT9y/
‘We knew that this was going to be an uphill battle and that the cards were stacked against us. But you stood up and spoke out regardless.’
She added she was ‘honoured’ to testify for Amber, and said she ‘would do it a million times over’, writing: ‘Because I know what I saw and because the truth is forever on your side.’
Whitney testified during the trial (Picture: Jason Merritt/Getty Images for Art of Elysium)
She spoke on the stand on day 18 (Picture: KEVIN LAMARQUE/POOL/AFP via Getty Images)
The statement went on: ‘I’m so sorry that it wasn’t reflected in the decision made by this jury, but I will never give up on you, and neither will anyone who stands with you. Forever by your side…’
She added the tag #istandwithamberheard, which was also reflected in the image shared on the platform along with the caption.
Whitney had testified in the afternoon of day 18 of the bombshell case, held at the Fairfax County Courthouse, and recalled an alleged argument the couple had, while also alleging Johnny ‘joked about putting their dog in the microwave’.
To view …read more
Source:: Metro
