'I'd see their head drop': Judy Bellinger reveals what jury REALLY thought of Johnny Depp-Amber Heard trial
The court stenographer, Judy Bellinger, who reported for duty in the Fairfax County, Virginia, courtroom nearly every day for six weeks, told Law & Crime Network that the jurors who awarded Johnny Depp $15 million in his defamation battle against Amber Heard might not have been paying much attention at all. He claimed that "a few" jurors had a hard time staying awake. "There were a few jurors who were dozing off," Bellinger said of the seven-person jury and admitting that "it was tough" to sit through all of the depositions and testimonies.
The trial concluded last week, with the jury almost completely siding with Depp, who sued Heard for defamation over a 2018 Washington Post op-ed she wrote in which she claimed he had committed domestic violence, though she didn’t name him. Depp was awarded $10 million in compensatory damages and $5 million in punitive damages from Heard. Heard was given $2 million in damages in her countersuit against Depp.
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In the interview with Law & Crime Bellinger further said, "There were a lot of video deposition, and they would just sit there and all of a sudden I'd see their head drop".
EXCLUSIVE: #JudyBellinger, the #Depp v. #Heard stenographer, tells the REAL story behind a video of her hugging #JohnnyDepp. pic.twitter.com/GHFvAaH39I
— Law&Crime Network (@LawCrimeNetwork) June 3, 2022
Bellinger made her remarks while discussing one of the alternate jurors in the case who watched the entire trial. "Unfortunately, the one alternate that was on there, she was probably the one that listened the most. I watched her facial expressions, she was very deeply into every word that was being said. I thought she would've made a great juror, and she did not get to see it to the end," Bellinger told the outlet. "She was paying close attention", Bellinger added.
The judge has reduced the damages to $350,000, due to state law. Heard now owes him roughly $10.4 million. However, her attorney said she can't pay and plans on appealing the verdict.
After Depp's victory, he released a statement and made it clear he wants to put the drama behind him. "Six years ago, my life, the life of my children, the lives of those closest to me, and also, the lives of the people who for many, many years have supported and believed in me were forever changed. All in the blink of an eye," his statement read.
"False, very serious and criminal allegations were levied at me via the media, which triggered an endless barrage of hateful content, although no charges were ever brought against me. It had already traveled around the world twice within a nanosecond and it had a seismic impact on my life and my career," Depp continued.
Whereas Heard called the jury's decision a "setback" for women. “The disappointment I feel today is beyond words. I'm heartbroken that the mountain of evidence still was not enough to stand up to the disproportionate power, influence, and sway of my ex-husband," Heard said.