Johnny Depp Wins Defamation Case Against Ex-wife Amber Heard

Keneci Channel

After about six weeks in a Fairfax, Virginia courtroom, hearing from actress Amber Heard, 36, her ex-husband actor Johnny Depp, 58, and their lawyers, a jury of 5 men and 2 women reached a verdict Wednesday, in the closely watched defamation case.

Depp had sued Heard for $50 million in connection with a 2018 op-ed she wrote for Washington Post. The left-wing actress without naming him directly, accused the actor of serious domestic abuse. This was at the height of the so-called '#metoo' women movement against 'abusive' men.

Heard had also filed a $100 million countersuit accusing Depp and Depp’s former attorney Adam Waldman of orchestrating a “smear campaign” against her via his lawsuit.

During the weeks-long televised trial which captivated millions of online viewers, the former spouses and their lawyers spent weeks rehashing past arguments and airing secretly recorded videos of each other.

Depp’s side presented evidence he was actually the victim of Heard's abusive actions which famously included an incident in which the actress defecated on his bed. The actor's Lawyers also refuted rumors that he had abused previous lovers, such as supermodel Kate Moss.

Depp alleges that Heard used the bogus abuse allegations to negotiate a $7 million divorce settlement, then moved on with Tesla CEO Elon Musk, who she told her agent she didn't love and was "just filling space." 

Although she publicly promised to donate the full sum to charity and claimed she had already done so on a TV show, it was revealed during the trial that she had only parted with a small fraction of the payout. Most of the donations made her on behalf came from Musk, according to testimony.

Heard offered a dramatically different account of their toxic relationship during her four days on the stand, telling jurors that Depp became a violent and belligerent "monster" when he was high and drunk.

In her most extreme abuse claim, the "Aquaman" star accused Depp of dragging her nude body across broken glass then penetrating her with a liquor bottle. 

The alleged sexual assault occurred during the same 2015 blowout in Australia that left the "Black Mass" star missing a piece of his finger. 

In between sobs, Heard recounted another horrific act of sexual abuse. She alleged he forcibly performed a cavity search on her, violently sticking his fingers inside her and searching for his cocaine during a drug-induced rage, she said.

As the trial progressed, public opinion online appeared to favor Depp, even as coverage by left-wing media outlets favored Heard.

The trial officially reached its conclusion on Friday after both Heard and Depp’s legal teams delivered their closing arguments.

During closing statements, the actor's lawyer Camille Vasquez argued that Depp was the sole victim in their doomed romance. "There is an abuser in this courtroom, and it is not Mr. Depp," she told jurors Friday, noting that it was the six-year anniversary to the day that Heard obtained the restraining order.

Vasquez described Heard as a "deeply troubled person, violent, afraid of abandonment, desperate for attention and approval." She also argued that the actress fabricated her "wild, over-the-top and implausible" abuse claims after Depp told her he wanted to end their one-year marriage.

"You either believe all of it, or none of it," Vasquez said. "Either she is a victim of ugly, horrible abuse, or she is a woman who is willing to say absolutely anything."

The jury spent roughly 12 hours 45 mins spread over 3 days, deliberating the case. On Tuesday, they asked Judge Penney Azcarate whether they should consider Heard’s entire op-ed or just the headline while making their decision.

The seven-person jury determined Wednesday, that Heard is guilty on 3-count-charge of defaming her former spouse in the 2018 op-ed. Notably, the jury found that a statement accusing Depp of sexual violence and domestic abuse was defamatory.

Depp was awarded $10 million in compensatory damages and $5 million in punitive damage. Judge Azcarate reduced the actor's punitive damages award to $350,000 -- the maximum under Virginia law. He will end up getting on net about $8,350,000.

Regarding her countersuit, the jury determined that Heard has proven only one of her two claims -- the one concerning comments made by Waldman -- awarding her $2 million in compensatory damages but no punitive damages, indicating they found her to be more at fault.

The verdict was reached at about 1:30 pm local time but the jury had initially failed to fill out the compensatory damages page on the verdict forms. Judge Azcarate sent them back to the deliberation room for a brief time after 3 pm to fill out the forms.

The verdict was ultimately announced at around 3:20 p.m. Heard was in the courtroom and mouthed to her sister, who was seated in the front row of the gallery, "I love you," just before the verdict was read. Depp did not show up in court, he is on tour with guitarist Jeff Beck in England, United Kingdom.

"The jury gave me my life back. I am truly humbled," Depp said in a statement. "From the very beginning, the goal of bringing this case was to reveal the truth, regardless of the outcome. Speaking the truth was something that I owed to my children and to all those who have remained steadfast in their support of me."

Heard on her part said in a statement that she was devastated by what she believed this verdict means for other women. "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," the statement read. "[The verdict] 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."

Following the verdict, 'BelieveAllWomen' trended on social media as critics mocked the feminist meme.

WATCH the jury verdict as read in court