US Jury Rules Amber Heard, Johnny Depp Both Liable for Defamation
19:24 GMT 01.06.2022 (Updated: 17:16 GMT 31.07.2023)
© AP Photo / Joel Ryan
Subscribe
Amber Heard, 36, has alleged that ex-husband Johnny Depp, 58, had a “pattern” of violence and subjected her to years of physical and emotional abuse. Depp, who characterized Heard as the aggressor, is seeking $50 million in damages and Heard has countersued for $100 million in opposition to claims that her abuse allegations were part of a “hoax.”
Actor Johnny Depp has been awarded a total of $15 million in damages in the Heard v. Depp defamation trial following a Wednesday verdict confirmed by a jury at the Fairfax County Circuit Court in northern Virginia.
Depp, who sought $50 million in damages, was found to have been defamed by Amber Heard and thus awarded $10 million in compensatory damages and $5 million in punitive damages.
Per Virginia law, punitive damages cannot exceed $350,000, which will force the judge to reduce the dollar amount decided by the jury.
The jury also found that Depp defamed Heard through press statements released by his lawyer Adam Waldman. In an April 2019 release, the attorney notoriously accused Heard of "defamation, perjury and filing and receiving a fraudulent temporary restraining order demand with the court."
Depp was ultimately found guilty on one of three counts, and Heard, who sought $100 million in damages via her countersuit, has been awarded $2 million in compensatory damages and $0 in punitive damages.
Crowds were overheard chanting in support of Depp outside the Fairfax courthouse following the verdict.
Crowd cheering, chanting “Johnny, Johnny” following verdict in #DeppVsHeard trial pic.twitter.com/bxeCOUn6Nf
— Lisa Bennatan (@LisaBennatan) June 1, 2022
The Depp v. Heard defamation trial was seven-week civil matter that materialized following a December 2018 op-ed authored by Heard in the Washington Post. While the outlet was not a defendant in the trial, the case was held in Virginia due to the location of the Post's printing presses and servers.
Heard took to Twitter to express "disappointment" in the Wednesday verdict.
"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," she wrote in a statement released within an hour after the verdict was read.
She went on to claim that Depp's lawyers "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."
Actor Amber Heard's statement on the June 1 verdict in the Heard v. Depp defamation suit.
Meanwhile, Depp celebrated the verdict, proclaiming in a news release that he is "at peace knowing" he finally accomplished his goal of revealing the truth, "regardless of the outcome."
"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," Depp wrote.
Actor Johnny Depp's statement on the June 1 verdict in the Heard v. Depp defamation suit.
Depp is overseas, and was not present for the Wednesday verdict reading in Virginia.
