A Virginia jury on Wednesday ruled that actor Amber Heard defamed 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 soured relationship. The jury also ruled in favor of Heard in some aspects of her counter-suit against Depp.
The jury awarded Depp USD 15 million in damages from Heard. The “Pirates of the Caribbean” star had sued Heard for USD 50 million and argued that she defamed him when she called herself “a public figure representing domestic abuse” in a newspaper opinion piece. Heard, 36, countersued for USD 100 million, saying Depp smeared her when his lawyer called her accusations a “hoax.”
On Wednesday, the seven-person jury reached a verdict, deciding that Depp proved ex-wife Heard defamed him in her 2018 op-ed about coming forward with sexual violence allegations. The jury awarded Depp with USD 15 million in damages but Heard will only have to pay USD 10.35 million due to Virginia law cap on punitive damages (the judge reduced the amount). In her countersuit, Heard won one of the three defamation counts, and she was awarded USD 2 million in damages.
Depp was not present when the verdict was read in court. He said in a statement that the “best is yet to come” for him after the verdict.
“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,” he said. “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.”
The 58-year-old actor was in good spirits shortly before the verdict was read in his defamation case, reported People.com. Depp was spotted hanging out with musicians Sam Fender – who posted a picture with Depp on social media – and Jeff Beck at the Bridge Tavern in Newcastle, England on Wednesday, where an onlooker tells PEOPLE, “He was in a great mood.”
Gary Spedding, another pub patron who was at the establishment at the same time as Depp, also opened up about his experience interacting with the Rum Diary actor and what the atmosphere was like “about 45 minutes” before the verdict was read.
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