U.S. jury rules Amber Heard defamed Johnny Depp
A Virginia jury ruled Wednesday that actress Amber Heard defamed her ex-husband Johnny Depp in a widely watched six-week trial that featured explicit and graphic evidence and testimony detailing the former Hollywood couple’s souring relationship.
The jury also found in Heard’s favor on some aspects of her countersuit against Depp.
The jury awarded Depp $15 million in damages from Heard. The panel awarded Heard $2 million in damages.
Depp, the 58-year-old “Pirates of the Caribbean” star, sued Heard for $50 million, arguing that she defamed him when she called herself “a public figure representing domestic abuse” in an op-ed. from a newspaper.
Heard, 36, has countersued for 0 million and said Depp defamed her when her lawyer called her allegations a “hoax”.
Depp has denied hitting Heard or any woman and said she was the one who became violent in their relationship.
At the center of the legal case is a December 2018 op-ed by Heard in the Washington Post in which she made a statement about domestic abuse. The article did not mention Depp by name, but his lawyer told the jury that it was clear Heard was referring to him.
During six weeks of testimony, Heard’s attorneys argued that she had told the truth and that her comments were covered as free speech under the First Amendment to the United States Constitution.
Throughout the case, jurors listened to recordings of the couple’s fights and saw graphic photographs of Depp’s bloody finger. She said the top of her finger was severed when Heard threw a bottle of vodka at her in 2015.
Heard denied hurting Depp’s finger and said that Depp sexually assaulted her that night with a bottle of liquor. She said that she hit him only to defend herself or her sister.
The testimony was broadcast widely live on social media, drawing large audiences to hear details about the couple’s troubled relationship.
Once among Hollywood’s biggest stars, Depp said Heard’s accusations cost him “everything”. A new “Pirates” movie was put on hold and Depp was replaced in the “Fantastic Beasts” film franchise, a “Harry Potter” spin-off.
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Depp lost a libel case less than two years ago against the Sun, a British tabloid that labeled him a “wife beater.” A London High Court judge ruled that he had repeatedly assaulted Heard.
Depp’s lawyers filed the US case in Fairfax County, Virginia, because the Washington Post is published there. The newspaper is not a defendant.
