By Aaron Miller–
The jury in the defamation trial pitting Johnny Depp against Amber Heard ruled in favour of Johnny Depp verdict on the third day of deliberations, finding that Johnny Depp was defamed in a 2018 article for the Washington Post.
He claimed the false article which didn’t name him affected his ability to work. Depp was awarded $15m by the court – comprising $10m compensatory damages and a further $5m in punitive damages – but the judge capped the punitive damages total in accordance with legal limits, resulting in a total of $10.35m.
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The jury found that Heard’s statements about her marriage were “false” and she acted with “actual malice”. Jurors also found that Depp defamed Heard – through his attorney – and awarded her $2m
In a statement, Heard says she is “heartbroken” and ” disappointed”
Depp sued Heard for $50m for implying he abused her in a 2018 Washington Post op-ed. Although she didn’t name him, he claims her allegations impacted his ability to work. She pursued a $100m counterclaim.
The jury found that Heard defamed Depp on all three counts and awarded him $10m in compensatory damages and $5m in punitive damages. Heard was found to have a partial win in her case and was awarded $2m in compensatory damages, but no punitive damages.
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In closing arguments on Friday, Depp’s lawyers asked jurors to “give him his life back” after it was “ruined” by Heard’s domestic abuse allegations. They called her claims an act of profound cruelty to true survivors and said that she gave the performance of her life on the stand.
In their closing, Heard’s lawyers said ruling in favour of Depp would make jurors an “accomplice” to his abuse and to his “campaign of global humiliation”, adding that he engaged in “victim-blaming at its most disgusting”.
In a statement, Depp celebrated his victory in his defamation lawsuit against Heard:
“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.
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.
And six years later, the jury gave me my life back. I am truly humbled.
My decision to pursue this case, knowing very well the height of the legal hurdles that I would be facing and the inevitable, worldwide spectacle into my life, was only made after considerable thought.
From the very beginning, the goal of bringing this case was to reveal the truth, regardless of the outcome. Speaking the truth was something that I owed to my children and to all those who have remained steadfast in their support of me. I feel at peace knowing I have finally accomplished that.
I am, and have been, overwhelmed by the outpouring of love and the colossal support and kindness from around the world. I hope that my quest to have the truth be told will have helped others, men or women, who have found themselves in my situation, and that those supporting them never give up. I also hope that the position will now return to innocent until proven guilty, both within the courts and in the media.
I wish to acknowledge the noble work of the Judge, the jurors, the court staff and the Sheriffs who have sacrificed their own time to get to this point, and to my diligent and unwavering legal team who did an extraordinary job in helping me to share the truth.
The best is yet to come and a new chapter has finally begun.
Veritas numquam perit.
Truth never perishes”.
Heard released a statement Wednesday afternoon reacting to the jury siding with Depp:
“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.
I’m even more disappointed with what this verdict means for other women. It is a setback. It sets back the clock to a time when a woman who spoke up and spoke out could be publicly shamed and humiliated. It sets back the idea that violence against women is to be taken seriously.
I believe Johnny’s attorneys succeeded in getting the jury to overlook the key issue of Freedom of Speech and ignore evidence that was so conclusive that we won in the UK.
I’m sad I lost this case. But I am sadder still that I seem to have lost a right I thought I had as an American — to speak freely and openly.”
Depp’s agent, Jack Whigham, described the impact of Heard’s article as “catastrophic” for Depp’s career, testifying the actor lost the chance to appear in the sixth instalment of the Pirates of the Caribbean series for which he would have earned $23m.
Another witness, accountant Michael Spindler, said that Depp had lost about $40m as a result of Heard’s allegations. Depp also resigned from the third Fantastic Beasts film after he lost a libel action against the Sun in 2020 after the newspaper called him a “wife beater”.
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