Depp wins defamation case against Heard
6 Min Read
"Pirates of the Caribbean" star will receive more than $10 million and Heard will receive $2 million.
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Depp is awarded more than $10M in a defamation case against Heard.
The jury in the highly watched defamation case against actor Johnny Depp's ex-wife Amber Heard announced its verdict on Wednesday.
The seven-member jury determined that Depp is entitled to $10 million in compensatory damages and $5 million in punitive damages. However, because Virginia state law limits punitive damages to $350,000, Depp will be awarded $10.35 million.
Depp sued Heard, his ex-wife, saying she defamed him by accusing him of domestic abuse.
Heard, 36, also filed a countersuit against Depp, 58, claiming $100 million in damages and alleging that Depp's legal team unjustly accused her of fabricating charges against him. In that countersuit, the jury awarded Heard $2 million in damages.
Depp sued Heard on three counts of defamation, demanding at least $50 million in compensatory damages and at least $350,000 in punitive damages, as well as attorney expenses and court costs.
Depp, who was not in the courtroom Wednesday, wrote in a statement posted on Instagram that "the jury gave me my life back."
He continued, "From the very beginning, the goal of bringing this case was to reveal the truth, regardless of the outcome."
With both stars accusing each other of wrecking their life, the result was interpreted as a vote on who the jury thought more credible and believable: Depp or Heard.
Depp vs. Heard
The verdict of the jury was divided. Jurors determined that Heard was defamed by an attorney for Depp, who claimed the actress staged a "hoax" by leaving their home unkempt when police arrived. As she heard the verdict read, Heard remained stone-faced.
In a statement issued afterward, she said, "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."
Heard called the verdict a setback for women. "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."
Jurors began deliberations on Friday before taking a holiday weekend break. On Tuesday, they returned to the courthouse. The reading of the verdict was temporarily halted after the court discovered that the jurors had not completed the forms completely. After reviewing the jury forms, Judge Penney Azcarate directed the seven members to reconvene to vote on a specific amount of damages.
While Depp was not in court when the decision was read, Heard was. Both testified and were present during the six-week trial.
Jury clarified statement that prompted Depp's lawsuit
Shortly after the lunch break on Tuesday, the jury handed Azcarate a clarifying question: Does Depp's claim that Heard made a defamatory statement apply to Heard's full newspaper piece or only the headline?
"The statement is the headline, not the entire op-ed," Azcarate wrote in reply after conferring with both sides' attorneys.
The title in question comes from Heard's op-ed in The Washington Post in 2018, "I stood up against sexual abuse and suffered the fury of our culture. That must change."
When the court instructed the jurors to deliberate, they were given a verdict form that included a variety of questions, including whether Depp's team had established that Heard's statement was untrue. The form also asks if the jurors agree that Heard intended to slander Depp, which is a critical component of defamation.
Couple's relationship took on elements of a public spectacle
The trial in Fairfax County, Virginia, has made public aspects of the couple's failing marriage, ranging from Depp's drug usage to accusations and counter-accusations of physical abuse.
"I struggle to find the words to describe how painful this is," Heard said when her attorney asked how she felt about the case. "This is horrible for me to sit here for weeks and relive everything."
Depp has stated that Heard's allegations destroyed his career and caused him to lose work in Disney's lucrative Pirates of the Caribbean film franchise. When asked what he had lost as a result of the charges throughout the trial, Depp said, "Nothing less than everything."
In the trial, jurors were confronted with a trove of evidence, including video and audio recordings of arguments and the actors' troubled relationship, as well as text messages and emails. The case was also played out on social media, with hashtags trending on TikTok and popular opinion seemed to be overwhelmingly in favor of Depp.
On Wednesday, Depp supporters gathered outside the courthouse to hear the verdict. Loud cheers were captured on camera as the decision was read.
Sparked by a 2018 op-ed
Depp sued Heard for an op-ed she wrote for The Washington Post in 2018, in which she advocated for a change in how the United States treats abuse survivors and urged support for the Violence Against Women Act.
The essay didn't directly refer to Depp by name. But his 2019 court complaint states, "the op-ed plainly was about ... Heard's purported victimization after she publicly accused her former husband, Johnny Depp, of domestic abuse in 2016, when she appeared in court with an apparently battered face and obtained a temporary restraining order against Depp."
Heard and Depp wedded in February 2015, and in May 2016, Heard filed for divorce. She filed a restraining order against Depp less than a week later, alleging that he threw an iPhone at her head, injuring her, during an argument in Los Angeles.
Depp refuted this, claiming that Heard was looking for leverage in their divorce. Police indicated at the time that they discovered no proof of a crime and that Heard refused to submit a formal complaint.
When the couple split in 2017, the agreement reportedly included a provision that they do not discuss their affair in public.
