Johnny Depp Wins Defamation Trial Against Ex-Wife Amber Heard, Awarded $15 Million In Damages

A jury in Fairfax, Virginia, has finally reached a unanimous decision in the defamation case filed by Hollywood actor Johnny Depp against his ex-wife Amber Heard. The seven-person panel started deliberating on Friday.

Reuters

The defamation trial was underway since April and jurors have heard over 100 hours of testimony.

Reuters

According to the verdict, Johnny Depp has won the trial against Amber Heard. The jury reached a decision that all claims made by Amber Heard were 'defamatory' to actor Johnny Depp.

AFP

The jury has ruled that Amber Heard needs to pay compensation worth $10 million and $5 million to Johnny Depp in response to his claims that she had defamed him in the op-ed in The Washington Post.

Reuters

What does Depp's victory suggest now?

Reuters

After the jury ruled the verdict in favor of Depp for his $50 million lawsuit against Heard over an op-ed published by The Washington Post in 2018. In the article, the Aquaman star stated that she was a domestic abuse survivor as she accused Depp.

A jury on Wednesday ruled in favor of Johnny Depp in the libel lawsuit against Heard, vindicating his claim that Heard fabricated claims that she was abused by Depp before and during their brief marriage.

Heard will be paying Depp $10 million in compensatory damages and $5 million in punitive damages. The jury also awarded Heard $2 million in compensatory damages.

Depp's total damages were reduced to $10.35 million, while Heard was awarded $2 million in damages in her counterclaim.

Reuters

What was the spoiler alert right before the verdict?

Sounds like the jury in the Depp-Heard trial didn't fill out the damages lines in their verdict form. They must find at least $1 in compensatory damages to return a verdict that a defamation occurred.

¡ª Joyce Alene (@JoyceWhiteVance) June 1, 2022

Just a few minutes from the verdict in the courtroom, there was a slight delay as the jury failed to complete the damages form. What does the damage form mean? The judge instructed the jurors that they have to include a damages amount of at least $1, meaning that they have found in favor of one of the parties.

Reuters

Johnny Depp had sued his ex-wife Heard for writing an op-ed piece for the Washington Post in which she claimed that she was a victim of domestic abuse.

AFP

Depp has even argued that she has leveled allegations against him to advance her career. Johnny's lawsuit alleges that he lost out on the sixth "Pirates of the Caribbean" film and other movie roles after Heard referred to herself as a "public figure representing domestic abuse" in a December 2018 op-ed, the Variety reported.

(To get the latest updates from Bollywood and Hollywood, keep reading Indiatimes Entertainment.)