Actor Johnny Depp has been found innocent of defamation against ex-wife and actor Amber Heard. The jury has awarded Depp US$10 million in compensatory damages and US$5 million in punitive damages.
The case, which has been ongoing in a very public fashion over the past few months, was sparked by Depp who sued Heard for a 2018 Washington Post editorial piece in which she appeared to claim that Depp was a proponent of domestic violence against her.
Although Heard did not name Depp in the piece, his case was built on the fact that everyone knew who she was talking about and that his reputation had suffered as a consequence. He was seeking US$50 million in damages for the article.
Heard countersued her ex-husband for $100 million in damages for saying that her statements were false and that she was a liar.
The jury, who began their deliberations on Friday, found that Heard’s statements in the article were “false” and that she acted with “actual malice” in writing the piece.
However, jurors also concluded that Depp had defamed her through the actions of his attorney in the initial defamation claim, and awarded her US$2 million in punitive damages.
Depp was not in the US to hear the verdict in person but received the news live via a video stream from the UK where he has, bizarrely, appeared on stage as a surprise act alongside Jeff Beck for the past few nights.
In final arguments, attorneys for Heard told the panel ruling against her would mean they were telling abuse victims: “If you didn’t take pictures, it didn’t happen. If you didn’t seek medical attention, you weren’t injured.”
Heard’s lawyer, Benjamin Rottenborn, said that his client deserved to win the case if jurors believed that she “was abused by Mr Depp even one time.
“We’re not just talking about physical abuse, psychological … sexual abuse,” he said.
Depp’s legal team provided recorded evidence in which Heard berates the Pirates of the Caribbean actor for being “a baby” after she physically assaulted him.
No recorded evidence was provided in the case of Depp physically assaulting Heard.
In a statement, Heard has said that she is “heartbroken” and that “the disappointment I feel today is beyond words.”
Depp, in his own statement, has said that “The jury gave me my life back. I am truly humbled.”
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