A jury held Amber Heard guilty for defaming Johnny Depp in an op-ed published in the Washington Post, and Depp accountable for a statement his counsel made to the Daily Mail calling her claims a fake. Depp received $15 million in damages from the jury, while Heard received $2 million.
While the jury said Depp deserved $10 million in compensatory damages and $5 million in punitive damages, the court noted California law restricts punitive damages at $350,000, so Depp’s total award would be $10.35 million. The verdict marked the conclusion of a dramatic civil trial that exposed the stars’ tumultuous marriage.
Depp filed a $50 million lawsuit against Heard in Virginia’s Fairfax County Circuit Court after she wrote an op-ed in The Washington Post in December 2018 characterising herself as “a public figure representing domestic abuse.”
His lawyers claim the story defamed him despite the fact that his name was never stated. Heard countersued for $100 million, alleging that Depp’s lawyer defamed her by dismissing her assault allegations as a fake.
The jury informed Judge Penney Azcarate that they had reached a decision early in the afternoon, but the verdict was not read until the amount of monetary rewards on the jury form had been filled in.
According to CBS News legal analyst Jessica Levinson, the jury weighed each of the six remarks separately and carefully considered the defamation accusations.
“It wasn’t just a matter of ‘We like Johnny Depp, we don’t like Amber Heard,” she explained, pointing out that Depp won on all three statements in his suit and Heard won on one of the three in her counterclaim.
“I think the punchline is that the jury determined they both lied at the end of the day,” Levinson remarked.
The jury also heard extensive recordings that attorneys claimed showed Depp engaging in violent behaviour and saw text conversations that referenced substance abuse and contained filthy language, notably between Depp and fellow actor Paul Bettany.
A friend testified about seeing Heard’s scrapes and bruises, and her sister testified about seeing Depp punch her.
Fans weighed in on social media and lined up overnight for coveted courtroom seats, and supermodel Kate Moss also appeared via video link, adding to the spectacle as broadcast cameras in the courtroom captured every twist to an increasingly rapt audience as fans weighed in on social media and lined up overnight for coveted courtroom seats.
On Friday, the closing arguments were presented. By the time the court adjourned for lunch, jurors had heard from both Depp and Heard’s attorneys.
Later in the day, the case was presented to the jury, marking the conclusion of six weeks of courtroom drama that revealed the stars’ tumultuous marriage.
The jury was told to evaluate not just whether there had been any abuse, but also whether Heard’s op-ed piece might be regarded legally defamatory. The article itself focuses on domestic abuse policy issues, but Depp’s lawyer claims that two paragraphs in the piece, as well as an internet headline, defamed Depp.
According to several sources, Johnny Depp was given $15 million in damages, with $10 million in compensatory and $5 million in punitive penalties.The jury, on the other hand, awarded Amber Heard $2 million in compensatory damages. The decision was apparently reached by a jury of five men and two women within three days of the trial’s conclusion.