‘We have to protect our client’s interests’: Johnny Depp’s lawyer discusses decision to appeal in defamation case

Although a jury found both Johnny Depp and Amber Heard responsible in a defamation lawsuit last month, the legal battle is not yet over. Camille Vasquez, one of Depp’s attorneys, spoke to “CBS Mornings” co-host Gayle King about their decision to appeal the verdict.

Last week, Heard told a court in Virginia that she would appeal the $10.3 million settlement she was ordered to pay her estranged husband. Depp’s team also filed a notice of appeal after the jury found him liable and ordered him to pay his ex-wife $2 million.

Vasquez said Depp’s team expected Heard to appeal.

“Do you need to plan a strategy to respond to this?” asked the king.

“Absolutely,” Vasquez said. “And we did. Mr. Depp ended up filing his own appeals so the court could have the full case. And – he insists on continuing to litigate this case. We have to protect our client’s interests.”

Vasquez said Depp’s team wouldn’t have appealed if Heard hadn’t. And, Vasquez added, “it was never about the money for Mr. Depp.”

“But in order to protect his interests, as his representative, we have to answer the call with his own call,” she said.

After the initial verdict, Depp posted a video on TikTok thanking his supporters and stressed that “we will all move forward together”.

“How do you heal and move on when both sides are still arguing in court?” asked the king.

“It’s pretty standard legal procedure,” Vasquez said. “We just hope the court will uphold the verdict, which we believe is the correct verdict, and allow both parties to move on.”

“Because some might say, Camille, ‘Well, that sounds a bit titty for tat-ish,'” King remarked.

“It’s true,” Vasquez said. “But it’s not. I mean, again, it’s very standard legal procedure. If she insists on appealing, we need to be able to make sure the court has the full case.”

CBS News reached out to Heard and his legal team about the appeals. They said they weren’t commenting yet.

In an interview with NBC last monthHeard said she “paid the price” for speaking truth to power and accused Depp’s team of distracting the jury from the real issues in the case.

Asked about those comments, Vasquez said, “The jury didn’t feel that way. And the verdict speaks for itself.”