Good Morning America co-anchor George Stephanopoulos sat down with Johnny Depp's high-profile lawyers Camille Vasquez and Benjamin Chew to discuss the trial victory which saw the hollywood actor win the defamation case against his ex-wife Amber Heard.
"Johnny is over the moon" said Vasquez and Chew of their client's relief in getting his life back after six years since this whole drama started.
"It was like the weight of the world had been taken off his shoulders and I feel that finally after six years he's gotten his life back," Chew told Stephanopoulos.
On June 1, a jury awarded Depp $10 million in compensatory damages and $5 million in punitive damages over Amber Heard's 2018 Washington Post op-ed in which she alleged to be a victim of domestic abuse.
"It was six years in the making, and I think he was able to connect with the jury and the general public and tell what really happened in this relationship," Vasquez said.
Stephanopoulos asked for them to comment on claims made by Heard's attorneys that the verdict was a setback to the metoo movement and will deter future abuse victims from coming forward, Vasquez wasted no time in hitting back.
"We're only speaking about what happened in this case, right? And the facts in this case were overwhelmingly positive for Johnny and the verdict speaks for itself," she said.
"I think our response to that is we encourage any victim to come forward -- domestic violence doesn't have a gender."
She went on, "The facts are what they were. The jury made a unanimous decision based on those facts."
"I think the jury got to see and the world got to see and hear from Ms. Heard in that relationship on every single topic," she continued.
Benjamin Chew added that there was "a real contrast" between Heard and Depp on the stand.
"Johnny took ownership of a lot of things and it seemed at times, and perhaps it came through to the jury, that she had an answer for everything and she wasn't taking accountability for anything, and I think that made a difference," he said.
Chew also said that he felt that social media "played no role whatsoever" in the verdict. "This was a decision made by the jury on the evidence presented by both sides, and as Camille said, it was overwhelmingly in Mr. Depp's favor," he said.
Chew said the case was not about the money but about "restoring [Depp's] reputation -- and he's done that."
