GoFundMe has closed a fundraiser claiming to raise money to help Amber Heard pay Johnny Depp some of the money he owes her after the defamation lawsuit.
A Fairfax, Virginia jury ruled this week that Depp should receive more than $ 10 million (£ 8 million) in damages after Heard wrote an opinion piece describing herself as a victim of ‘abuse.
Heard received $ 2 million (£ 1.6 million) in compensation for Depp’s former lawyer’s comments, which means he owes his ex-husband a total of $ 8.35 million (6.68 million). million pounds sterling). As a result, a fundraiser entitled ‘Justice for Amber Heard’ was set up on GoFundMe.
The GoFundMe page had a goal of $ 1 million. Credit: GoFundMe
With a goal of $ 1 million (£ 800,000), the GoFundMe page stated that it wanted to “help” Heard and said the Aquaman actor would have “direct access” to the money raised by fans.
The description on the page explained, “I think Amber and social media protected the abuser. The lawsuit outweighs her net worth. It’s so sad she was able to get away with it with the abuse. The lawsuit favors that abuse. “If you can help her, please. She’ll have direct access to the money. I also contacted her lawyer so they can connect her.”
It is unclear how long the fundraiser lasted, but it was shut down after GoFundMe determined that neither Heard nor anyone on his team had created the page.
A spokesman for the fundraising site told TMZ that they were able to bookmark the profile before a substantial amount of money was raised. The platform also plans to continue searching for fake pages and act accordingly.
The lawyer alleged that Heard had been ‘demonized’ throughout the trial and stated: “In this court a number of things were allowed that should not have been allowed, and caused the jury to be confused “.
Bredehoft confirmed Heard’s plans to appeal the jury’s decision, saying the actor has “excellent reasons” for doing so.
Heard herself has made it clear that she is disappointed with the ruling, saying in a statement after the result that it indicates a setback in the idea “that violence against women should be taken seriously.”
“I am sad to have lost this case. But I am even sadder because I seemed to have lost a right that I thought I had as an American: to speak freely and openly,” he added.