The jury in the Johnny Depp vs Amber Heard defamation trial has reached a verdict.
After nearly 13 hours of deliberation spanning three days, the jury of five men and two women came to a decision.
The jury unanimously found Amber guilty of defaming Johnny in an op-ed for the Washington Post, which was published in December 2018.
The jury also awarded the actor $10 million in compensatory damages, and $5 million in punitive damages.
The former couple’s court battle at the Fairfax County Circuit Court came to an end last Friday after six weeks.
Johnny, 58, launched a $50 million defamation lawsuit against his ex-wife in 2019, after she wrote about being an alleged victim of domestic violence in an op-ed for the Washington Post in December 2018.
While his name was excluded from the piece, Johnny’s legal team have argued that the op-ed implied that he “perpetrated domestic violence against her.”
In response, Amber countersued Johnny, asking for $100 million and claiming she suffered “rampant physical violence and abuse” at his hands.
In her countersuit, the actress claimed she was defamed by statements made by Depp’s former lawyer, Adam Waldman, who told the Daily Mail her abuse claims were a “hoax”.
Regarding her countersuit, the jury awarded $2 million in compensatory damages to Amber, but $0 in punitive damages.
In response to the jury’s guilty verdict, Amber said in a statement: “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.”
“I’m even more disappointed with what this verdict means for other women. 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. I believe Johnny’s attorneys 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.”
“I’m sad I lost this case. But I am sadder still that I seem to have lost a right I thought I had as an American – to speak freely and openly,” she added.
During their deliberations, the jury worked through a special verdict form, which contained 24 questions relating to Johnny’s suit against Amber, and 18 questions relating to her countersuit against him.
Both needed to prove the statements were defamatory.
To win compensatory or punitive damages, the jury needed to find the statements were made with actual malice.
During the six-week long trial, Amber detailed multiple incidents of alleged abuse, and told the court that “violence became normal” towards the end of their relationship.
However, Johnny testified that he never hit his ex-wife, and claimed that she was the abuser in their relationship.
In court, the 58-year-old said the allegations he was a “drunken, cocaine-fueled menace who beat women” have cost him “everything”.
Amber was present in court for the reading of the verdict, but Johnny was watching from the UK – where he has been performing for the past three days with Jeff Beck.
Before the verdict was announced, a rep for Amber slammed Johnny’s decision not to appear in court.
They told TMZ: “Your presence shows where your priorities are. Johnny Depp plays guitar in the UK while Amber Heard waits for a verdict in Virginia. Depp is taking his snickering and lack of seriousness on tour.”
Johnny and Amber met in 2009 on the set of the film The Rum Diary, and were married in February 2015.
Their divorce was finalised two years later.
