Amber Heard Has Signed A “Multi-Million Dollar” Book Deal, But Could End Up Back In Court Over Defamation

ByJoseph Gibsonon June 23, 2022inArticles›Celebrity News

Fresh off the jury decision that ordered her to pay a $10 million defamation judgement to ex-husband Johnny Depp , Amber Heard is getting another chance to put her side of the story on the record.

It’s being reported that Heard has signed a “multi-million dollar” deal to write a tell-all book about her marriage to Depp.

Why would she do this?

Money. Duh.

Before the verdict came down, we estimated that Amber Heard had a net worth of $2.5 million . Technically, she owes Johnny $8 million because the jury also ordered him to pay her $2 million. For this reason, we currently estimate that Amber’s net worth is negative $6.5 million. This lines up with the revelation Amber’s own lawyer gave to the Today Show the day after the verdict was announced. According to Amber’s own lawyer, the actress “absolutely can not afford” the judgement.

But according to a source who spoke with tabloid magazine OK!, Amber’s book won’t be simply a cash grab:

“Amber considers her career in Hollywood over… At this point, she has nothing to lose and wants to tell all.”

<img loading=“lazy” src=“https://vz.cnwimg.com/thumb-900x/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/GettyImages-520788724.jpg" onerror=“this.onerror=null;this.src=‘https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhe7F7TRXHtjiKvHb5vS7DmnxvpHiDyoYyYvm1nHB3Qp2_w3BnM6A2eq4v7FYxCC9bfZt3a9vIMtAYEKUiaDQbHMg-ViyGmRIj39MLp0bGFfgfYw1Dc9q_H-T0wiTm3l0Uq42dETrN9eC8aGJ9_IORZsxST1AcLR7np1koOfcc7tnHa4S8Mwz_xD9d0=s16000';" alt=“Amber Heard Has Signed A “Multi - 1”>

Jason Kempin/Getty Images

Amber Heard is in a rather unfortunate position to write any kind of tell-all book, since she’s already lost one defamation case against Depp. Repeating any controversial claims in greater detail in a book could land her in the middle of yet another defamation suit. Dror Bikel is an expert in the legal subtleties behind the divorces of the rich and famous, and he summed up the situation like this to the OK! magazine:

“To the extent that Heard wants to discuss this case and her relationship with Depp in a tell-all statement or book, she needs to be extremely careful as to what she says about him. Depp and his attorneys will be reading and listening to everything that Heard states. If she crosses the line, which is likely, there is no question that she will be hit with another defamation suit and end up right back in court.”

Of course, the unnamed publisher that closed a deal with Heard would also have its own team of lawyers on hand, to go over what’s in the book and whether anything in it would be considered defamatory. So while the book may eventually be billed as a “tell-all,” legal necessities might prevent it from actually being one.

Here’s a more likely outcome, in my opinion:

Johnny Depp hasn’t announced yet if he intends to enforce the $8 million net defamation judgment. I bet at some point in the next few weeks, Depp’s lawyers reach out to Heard and say: " if you agree to never talk about me in public ever again in any way shape or form, I won’t enforce the judgment. " And poof, this book never happens and we never hear about Johnny Depp from Amber Heard ever again. Just a theory.

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Amber Heard Absolutely Can Not Afford $10+ Million Judgment (According To Her Own Lawyer), So What Happens Next?

ByJoseph Gibsonon June 3, 2022inArticles›Celebrity News

As you’ve undoubtedly already heard by now, the verdict in the Johnny Depp /Amber Heard defamation case is in, and the final tally shakes out to Heard owing Depp a bit more than $10 million for defamation of character. To make matters worse for Ms. Heard, the actress does not have the financial wherewithal to cover this debt if it’s enforced.

Speaking with Savannah Guthrie on a Thursday morning episode of “The Today Show,” Amber’s lawyer was asked point-blank whether her client can afford to pay a $10.35 million judgment.

Her lawyer’s exact reply was:

" Oh, no. Absolutely not. "

Before the trial, we pegged Amber Heard’s net worth at $2.5 million. If that number is in the ballpark, and the $10.35 million judgment is enforced, Amber could conceivably be considered to to have a negative net worth at the moment.

So, what are Amber’s options going forward?

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(Photo by EVELYN HOCKSTEIN/POOL/AFP via Getty Images)

First, let’s do a brief breakdown on that $10.35 million.

The jury awarded Depp $10 million in compensatory damages from Heard, plus another $5 million in punitive damages. But the latter was reduced to $350,000 following Virginia’s caps on punitive damages.

Interestingly, the jury also awarded Heard $2 million from Depp as part of her counter-suit. That still leaves an $8.35 million net debt owed to Johnny and limited options going forward.

Appeal

Heard’s attorney Elaine Charlson Bredehoft says that her client plans to appeal the ruling. Unfortunately that might not be so simple. If Amber wants to pursue an appeal, she will likely be required to post a bond for the full $10.35 million while the appeals process makes its way through the court, plus interest. Speaking to CBS News , Attorney Sandra Spurgeon put it like this:

“For an individual who doesn’t have the ability to pay the judgment and no ability to post the bond, then there is a real issue if the winning party intends to execute the judgment.”

If Heard does indeed appeal the decision and doesn’t post a bond for the amount of the award, that would place the decision on whether to execute the judgment with Depp, who of course is a much wealthier person from his decades as a high earning movie star. With his stated interest in getting “the truth” out over any dollar amount, it’s possible that he’d be willing to negotiate a lower settlement for Heard to cut her losses and drop her appeals. “He’s in the driver’s seat right now,” as Spurgeon put it, going on:

“[Depp has] already won in the court of public opinion…Maybe he’s willing to say, ‘If you drop the appeal, I’m willing to drop the judgment’.”

Depp could be willing to drop the matter and consider it a massive PR victory, but if that doesn’t happen and Heard is indeed unable to pay the judgment, two other options remain: the garnishing of future wages and even property holdings by, and declaring bankruptcy.

Earning Potential

As a film and television star, albeit one with something of a cloud hanging over her at this point, Amber could just work really hard to pay the debt down. If the debt was enforced, Amber’s future wages could be garnished, while other assets like real estate, jewelry, and so on, could also be up for grabs. However, the law does protect some financial assets from seizure in situations such as this one, like retirement accounts.

File for Bankruptcy

Another option would be to file for bankruptcy. But contrary to what you might assume, even that isn’t as simple as you might think. Bankruptcy law prohibits debts from “willful and malicious injury by the debtor” to be discharged through insolvency, and since the jury’s ruling specifies Heard’s “defamation with malice,” attorney Brian Pastor told CBS that could trigger a problem for Heard, should she go down this route – but again, that would only apply if Depp made the decision to formally object to her discharging the ruling through bankruptcy. As Pastor points out, any action on Depp’s part following a positive verdict could be seen as vindictive by the public and end up being more trouble than it’s worth:

“The overriding issue is, with someone like Depp, is that as a practical matter you want to go back to making movies that make you a giant payday, and therefore, the most important thing for you isn’t this $10.35 million, it’s your ability to get a paycheck for $10, $20, $30 million…Ticket buyers might be turned off by him going after her for that $10.3 million.”

Elon Musk to the Rescue?

Another hail-Mary option for Amber would be… Elon Musk .

The world’s richest person happens to be another ex-boyfriend of Amber’s. He could easily use a teeny-tiny portion of his $200+ billion net worth to settle Amber’s debt. And that wouldn’t be totally out-of-character for Musk. When Amber and Johnny initially divorced, she vowed to donate the multi-million-dollar settlement to the ACLU and the Children’s Hospital of Los Angeles. In the trial we learned that Elon actually ponied up around $500,000 of the $1.3 million she has donated to the ACLU so far.

Speaking on the trial over Twitter, Elon recently said:

" I hope they both move on. At their best, they are each incredible. "

Maybe Elon can help them both move on with a little $8 million payment.

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  • Amber Heard Has Signed A “Multi-Million Dollar” Book Deal, But Could End Up Back In Court Over Defamation
  • Amber Heard Is Suing Her Insurance Company Over Defamation Verdict Payout
  • Amber Heard May Receive $15 Million Book Deal Thanks To Voracious Bidding War
  • Amber Heard Witness Claims Actress Has Lost $45-50 Million In Combined Film/TV And Endorsement Income