"Hopefully it's over": Internet reacts as judge rejects Amber Heard's motion to set aside Johnny Depp's trial win

Amber Heard's motion for a mistrial in her high-profile defamation case against estranged husband Johnny Depp has been dismissed by a Virginia judge. The judge stated there are no grounds to cancel the $10 million verdict against her.

Following the judge's new verdict, fans of Johnny Depp took to Twitter to diss the American actress for challenging the motion. One said that the judge's verdict was "good" and added, "Hopefully it's over once and for all."

Per the motion filed on June 8, the legal team of the 36-year-old actress asked the court to nullify the verdict, which was announced on June 1, over claims of a fake juror. They alleged that a juror out of the seven selected did not receive a summons addressed to the person, and someone else from the same household showed up as Juror no. 15.

However, on July 13, Judge Penney Azcarate rejected the motion stating that Heard's team should have objected to the verdict sooner. The judge added that there was no error with the outcome.

“Defendant does not allege Juror Fifteen’s inclusion on the jury prejudiced her in any way. The juror was vetted, sat for the entire jury, deliberated and reached a verdict. The only evidence before this Court is that this juror and all jurors followed their oaths, the Court’s instructions and orders. This court is bound by the competent decision of the jury.”

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Twitter reactions on Amber Heard's rejected plea

Johnny Depp fans and followers applauded the Judge's decision to reject Amber Heard's plea and some even dissed her lawyer's efforts to challenge the judgment. One fan alleged that Heard's lawyer Elaine Bredehoft knew about the alleged false claims.

Several Twitter users also pointed to the fact that Judge Azcarate had highlighted parts of the document in order to "send a message here."

Some fans said that since Depp won the case, Heard and her lawyer "need to get over it." While other fans said that they could already hear Heard's followers claiming that judge was biased.

Some people claimed that since the lawyer knew that the motions were "pointless and obsolete," she was "filing them to get paid for them by Amber's insurance."

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What did Amber Heard's team say about the alleged fake juror?

In a court plea filed on June 8, the summons sent in April 2022 went to an address where two people with the same surnames lived. The summons was supposed to be for a 77-year-old individual but at jury duty, the other resident, a 52-year-old, showed up as Juror 15.

As of now, the identity of the person hasn't been revealed to the public.

In the documents, Heard's team stated:

"Thus, the 52-year-old- (redacted) sitting on the jury for six weeks was never summoned for jury duty on April 11 and did not 'appear in the list,' as required. In this case, it appears that Juror No. 15 was not, in fact, the same individual as listed on the jury panel… Ms. Heard's due process was therefore compromised. Under these circumstances, a mistrial should be declared, and a new trial ordered."

Johnny Depp sued Amber Heard for $50 million over an op-ed article she wrote in the Washington Post in 2018. In the piece, she claimed to be a victim of domestic violence and dubbed herself “a public figure representing domestic abuse.”

Although she did not name Depp, his lawyers stated that the article insinuated that Heard was talking about the star. They asked for financial compensation from his former wife for tarnishing his professional image.

Heard countersued Depp for $100 million for defaming her and claiming that her domestic violence allegations were a "hoax."

After a six-week heated court battle in Fairfax, Virginia, a seven-person jury awarded Depp $15 million in the form of compensatory and punitive damages. However, this was ultimately reduced to $10.35 million because of Virginia's rules. Meanwhile, Amber Heard was also awarded $2 million but received no punitive damages.