After a six-week-long televised trial, Johnny Depp finally won the defamation lawsuit he filed against ex-wife Amber Heard.
The Virginia state jury found Aquaman actress Amber Heard guilty of making defamatory claims of abuse against her ex-husband Johnny Depp. As a result, the Pirates of the Caribbean actor was awarded $15 million in damages.
As per the seven-member jury in Virginia, Amber Heard’s 2018 article on ‘sexual violence’ was defamatory towards Johnny Depp. Adding that it was written with ‘malicious intent’, making her guilty of libel.
The jury also found that the Machete Kills actress was defamed by statements made by Depp’s lawyer, Adam Waldman, and awarded her $2 million in damages. He had told the Daily Mail that her abuse claims were a ‘hoax’.
Johnny Depp vs Amber Heard, Again
After a long trial, and a #JusticeForJohnnyDepp campaign on social media this high-profile defamation case has finally wrapped up.
Amber Heard releases a statement regarding the case expressing her disappointment.
“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.”
She described the verdict as a setback for other women.
“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.”
Amber Heard added how losing this case at home affected her after a win for this case in the United Kingdom.
“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”.
Johnny Depp lost a libel case less against the Sun, a British tabloid, that labeled him a ‘wife beater’, than two years ago. A London High Court judge ruled that he had repeatedly assaulted Amber Heard.
