After six weeks of evidence and nonstop media attention, a jury has made a decision in Johnny Depp and Amber Heard’s defamation suit – and the jury has completely sided with Depp.
The jury unanimously decided in favor of the actor, stating that Heard made her accusations “with genuine malice.” They also awarded Johnny Depp $10 million in compensatory damages and $5 million in punitive penalties. Because punitive damages are limited in Virginia, she will only have to pay $350,000 of the $5 million.
Heard did win a tiny success, with the jury ruling that remarks made by Depp’s lawyer Adam Waldman were defamatory and awarding her $2 million in compensatory damages.
VERDICT: Johnny Depp v Amber Heard Defamation TrialVERDICT REACHED in Johnny Depp v Amber Heard Defamation Trial. Verdict will be read at 3 p.m. ET.
Posted by Law & Crime on Wednesday, June 1, 2022
Heard was in the courtroom when the judgement was announced, but Depp, who had been at a few concerts in the UK during the previous week, did not appear.
Heard said in a statement after the judgment was announced, the disappointment she felt today is indescribable. She is devastated that the weight of the proof was not enough to overcome her ex-excessive husband’s power, influence, and sway. She is even more saddened by the implications of this decision for other women. It’s a disappointment. It reverts to a time when a woman who spoke up and out may be publicly humiliated and disgraced. It undermines the notion that violence against women should be treated seriously.
She stated she believed Johnny’s counsel were successful in convincing the jury to dismiss the important subject of Freedom of Speech and to disregard proof that was so overwhelming that they won in the UK. She is sorry she didn’t win this case. But what makes her saddest is that she appears to have lost a freedom she believed she had as an American — the liberty to freely express and honestly.
Depp also issued a statement, stating that after six years of battle, the jury restored his life. He is very moved.
He said his choice to continue this action, knowing full well the magnitude of the legal obstacles that he would face and the unavoidable, international spectacle into his life. Speaking the truth was something he owed to his kids and to everyone who has actively supported him. He is relieved that he has finally completed that task.
He ended saying, The best is yet to come and a new chapter has finally started.
Ashley Benson, who posted a photo of Depp waving on Instagram with the message “YESSSSS,” was among others who congratulated the actor on his triumph.
Following final statements on Friday, May 27, the jury of five men and two women began their third day of deliberations on Wednesday.
Depp was demanding $50 million in damages after Heard alleged in an op-ed in the Washington Post in 2018 that she was a survivor of domestic violence. While she did not identify Depp in the article, his attorneys claim it was supposed to be about him and harmed his profession.
During the six-week trial, both Heard and Depp testified about claimed torture at the hands of the other.
Depp dismissed Heard’s charges during his final appearance on the stand last week “”Insane,” she said, before adding, “Horrible.” Ridiculous. Humiliating. Ludicrous. Painful. Savage. Unfathomably cruel. Cruel. And they are all fake. Everything is untrue.”
No human being, definitely none of us, is flawless. But I have never committed sexual violence or physical abuse in my life, despite all the bizarre, crazy claims about me doing these things and living with it for six years while waiting to be able to reveal the truth “He continued. “So this is not going to be easy for any of us. That I am aware of. But, regardless of what happens, I arrived, I told the truth, and I spoke out for what I had been carrying on my back, grudgingly, for six years.”
Meanwhile, Heard has stated that she merely wants Depp to “leave her alone.”
She stated last Thursday, the abuse and embarrassment, the campaign against her that is replayed on social media every single day, and now in front of cameras in the showroom every single day she has to relive the pain. Perhaps it’s easy to forget she is a person.”
She continued, Johnny has taken enough of her voice. She is entitled to tell my tale.
The actor already lost a case in the United Kingdom over the identical piece.
