Depp celebrates defamation verdict, Heard ‘heartbroken’

Depp celebrates defamation verdict, Heard ‘heartbroken’

FAIRFAX, United States, June 2: A jubilant Johnny Depp said Wednesday that a US jury “gave me my life back” by overwhelmingly taking his side in a bitter defamation battle with his ex-wife Amber Heard over mutual allegations of domestic abuse.
The jury, after a six-week trial, found that Depp and Heard had defamed each other, but weighed in far more strongly with the “Pirates of the Caribbean” star.
The 58-year-old Depp, who lost a libel case against The Sun tabloid in London in 2020 for calling him a “wife-beater,” celebrated the split verdict in the case as a victory while Heard said she was “heart-broken.”
The five-man, two-woman jury, after deliberating over three days, unanimously found Heard liable for all three counts of defamation against Depp and awarded him $10 million in compensatory damages and $5 million in punitive damages.
Virginia law caps punitive damages at $350,000 meaning the total award is $10.35 million.
The 36-year-old Heard prevailed on just one of the three counterclaims she made against Depp and the jury awarded her compensatory damages—but a much lower amount of $2 million.
A somber Heard, her eyes downcast, listened impassively as the verdict was read out in Fairfax County Circuit Court near the US capital.
“The disappointment I feel today is beyond words,” she said in a statement. “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,” she 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.” Depp, who has been in England for the past few days, was not in court for the verdict in the high-profile trial that hinged on lurid claims and counterclaims of domestic abuse between the Hollywood celebrities.
But he welcomed the verdict in a statement posted on Instagram which quickly received millions of “likes.” “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,” Depp said.
“The jury gave me my life back,” he said. “From the very beginning, the goal of bringing this case was to reveal the truth, regardless of the outcome.