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Actress Amber Heard, 36, is unable to pay her ex-husband Johnny Depp, 58, US$10.35 million (S$14.2 million) in damages, her lawyer revealed on June 2.

Heard's lawyer, Elaine Bredehoft said one day after the verdict on NBC’s The Today Show that her client is “absolutely not” able to pay the millions of dollars in damages that the Pirates of the Caribbean actor won after a jury deliberated for three days following the trial.

Bredehoft said on the morning talk show that Heard intends to appeal the verdict.

Depp had influence: Heard's lawyer

“One of the first things she said is that, ‘I am so sorry to all those women out there’,” Bredehoft said about Heard's reaction, in comments that have been picked up and widely reported in the media.

The lawyer added: “This is a setback for all women in and outside the courtroom, and she feels the burden of that.”

“Unless you pull out your phone and you video your spouse or your significant other beating you, effectively, you won’t be believed.”

The lawyer added that Depp's legal team worked to "demonise" Heard and suppressed crucial evidence in the trial, according to CNN.

The jurors were prevented from examining evidence of Depp's alleged abuse as a result.

"A number of things were allowed in this court that should not have been allowed and it caused the jury to be confused," she said.

Bredehoft also separately told CNN that Depp won due to his "wealth, power and fame".

The lawyer also said the ruling is detrimental to the MeToo movement and will discourage women from reporting sexual harassment and abuse.

"It's a horrible message," Bredehoft said. "It's a significant setback, because that's exactly what it means."

Slammed social media circus

The attorney also spoke out against the social media circus covering the events, characterising it as trollish during the six-week-long defamation trial.

Bredehoft said there was “no way” the outcome was not influenced by it.

“There’s no way they couldn’t have been influenced. It was horrible. It was really, really lop-sided,” she told host Savannah Guthrie on Thursday morning.

“It’s like the Roman coliseum, how they viewed this whole case.”

Lengthy, televised trial

The lengthy, high-profile televised court battle ended on June 1.

A seven-person jury found that Depp and Heard had defamed each other, but weighed more in Depp's favour.

The jury awarded him US$10.35 million in damages, in contrast with US$2 million awarded to Heard.

The compensatory sum awarded to Depp related to lost career opportunities and US$5 million in punitive damages.

Depp celebrated the split verdict as a victory.

"The jury gave me my life back," Depp said in a statement. "The best is yet to come and a new chapter has finally begun."

Heard expressed a deep “heartbreak” following the verdict’s reading on Wednesday afternoon.

“The disappointment I feel today is beyond words,” Heard said in her statement.

“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.”

On social media, Depp's statement received significantly more reactions than Heard's.

Background

Depp sued Heard over an op-ed she wrote for The Washington Post in December 2018.

Heard had described herself as a "public figure representing domestic abuse".

The article, published in print and online, is still available online.

The Texas-born Heard, who starred in Aquaman (2018), did not name Depp in the piece.

However, he sued her for implying he was a domestic abuser and sought US$50 million in damages.

Heard then countersued for US$100 million, saying she was defamed by statements made by Depp's lawyer Adam Waldman, who told the Daily Mail her abuse claims were a "hoax".

The trial took place in Fairfax County, Virginia, which is home to The Washington Post's servers, The Independent reported.

Top photo via E! News & Law&Crime Network