Amber Heard’s sister Whitney responds to defamation verdict, claims ‘cards were stacked against us’

Whitney Henriquez, Amber Heard’s sister, has broken her silence after the jury’s decision in Johnny Depp’s defamation trial against his ex-wife. A seven-person jury awarded Depp million in damages, ruling that Heard, 36, defamed her ex-husband in a 2018 Washington Post op-ed alleging domestic violence in which she did not identify him.

Meanwhile, in her defamation countersuit, Amber Heard was granted USD 2 million. Her counsel said the next morning that she intends to appeal the judgment. The actress’ younger sister, who testified on her favor throughout the trial and was in the courtroom when the decision was announced, expressed her support for her on Instagram on Sunday. She penned, “I still stand with you, sissy. Yesterday, today and tomorrow I will always be proud of you for standing up for yourself, for testifying both here in Virginia and in the UK, and for being the voice of so many who can’t speak to the things that happen behind closed doors,” wrote Henriquez, 34.

Check out her full statement here:

Heard issued her own statement shortly after the conviction was announced, calling it a “setback” for women. “The disappointment I feel today is beyond words,” she wrote. “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,” she penned at the time.

However, Henriquez testified and was questioned previously in the court case about a March 2015 incident in which she said Depp allegedly attacked her and Heard on a stairway in their apartment. She said her then-brother-in-law punched her in the back and then “repeatedly” hit Heard, as per PEOPLE. Heard also testified about the event, claiming she attacked Depp in order to save her sister. That account of events was refuted by him.