The Verdict is in. Johnny Depp wins over 10 million dollars in his defamation lawsuit against ex-wife Amber Heard according to a Virginia jury Wednesday afternoon.
After six weeks of deliberations from both Depp and Heard’s defense team in the public eye, the jury awarded Depp $10 million in damages and $5 million in punitive damages. Judge Penney Azcarate who presided over the case lowered the punitive damages to $350,000 dollars.
Before the Jury’s unanimous decision was read, Depp had sued Heard for $50 million dollars for allegedly labeling him in the public eye as someone who physically assaulted her and was a “wife beater” as a Heard described herself as a victim of sexual and physical abuse. She countersued Depp for $100 million.
On almost every account, the jury concluded that Heard was not telling the truth and was indeed guilty of defamation of the former Pirates of the Caribbean actor.
Heard was awarded $2 million dollars in compensatory damages by the jury due to finding Adam Waldman, Depp’s former attorney of defamation, as he told a tabloid she and her friends created a hoax of messing up her apartment to look much worse than it did for when police arrived to inspect it.
Following the win, Depp issued the following statement about the relief he said he felt from the verdict.
“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,” Depp said. “It had already traveled around the world twice within a nanosecond and it had a seismic impact on my life and my career. Six years later, the jury gave me my life back. I am truly humbled.”
Heard said she was disappointed with he jury not believing her in an issued statement on social media.
“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 said. “It is a setback. 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.
The decision came from a jury of five men and two women after almost 13 hours of deliberation that spanned three days. The defamation trial which started on Aprill 11, saw both Depp and Heard’s defense team trade domestic abuse allegations against each other with people around the country watching on as the case with televised nationally.
Depp said he was relieved and satisfied that he got to tell the truth after six years defamation claims which saw the former Edward Scissorhands actor being fired by Warner Bros from appearing in any further Fantastic Beasts films as Gillert Grindelwald and Disney from appearing as Captain Jack Sparrow in any future Pirates of the Caribbean films.
“No matter what happens, I did get here and I did tell the truth and I have spoken up for what I’ve been carrying on my back, reluctantly, for six years,” Depp said. The actor called Heard’s allegations, “ridiculous, humiliating, ludicrous, painful, savage, unimaginably brutal, cruel, and all false. All false.”
