Johnny Depp wins the defamation trial against ex-wife Amber Heard. Image Source: USA Today 

The verdict is out.

On Wednesday, the verdict of the defamation trial between Johnny Depp and Amber Heard was announced, and Johnny Depp has won all three defamation claims in his case.

Johnny Depp sued Amber Heard over an op-ed the actress wrote for the Washington Post back in 2018 in which she described herself as a domestic violence and abuse survivor. Although in the op-ed, Amber Heard did not name Johnny Depp in the essay, Johnny Depp claimed that the headline, a few lines, and a paragraph that was written were enough to make the audience know that she was talking about him. The actor mentioned that it was easy to point out who she meant when the op-ed was published because of the accusations she claimed in 2016 when she obtained a restraining order against Johnny Depp. The actor filed a lawsuit to clear his name, for his kids and the people who believed in him for so many years and he testified that it was him who suffered the domestic abuse and violence in their relationship not Amber Heard. 

The closing arguments from both sides were heard on Friday, and the jury entered the deliberation but did not reach a decision on Friday, so they scheduled the discussion on Tuesday and Wednesday. After deliberating for a total of 12 hours, the verdict that was decided unanimously among the jurors was read aloud in the Fairfax County, Virginia, courtroom.

The jury, after long deliberation, unanimously decided that Johnny Depp was successful in proving that not only was the op-ed written by Amber Heard was about him but it also went on to tarnish his reputation and career opportunities as he was dropped from the Pirates of the Caribbean 6 movie and a couple of projects too. The jury awarded Johnny Depp $15 million in damages in total ($10M for compensatory and $5M for the damages) however, according to the Virginia statute cap on punitive damages, Amber Heard is reportedly obligated to pay Johnny Depp $10.35 million.

In regards to the defamation suit, Amber Heard countersued Johnny Depp over the statements made by his former attorney Adam Waldman, which were published by the Daily Mail at the time, along with Johnny Depp starting a smear campaign against her on social media. According to the actress, the statements by Adam Waldman went ahead to defame the actress because of which she had lost career opportunities. The jury announced that Johnny Depp was aware of the statements made by his former attorney and was found to have defamed her on one of three claims. Amber Heard was awarded $2 million in damages. Amber Heard is now obligated to pay Johnny Depp about $8.3 M. (reducing her amount from the money she has to pay to him)

At the time of the announcement of the verdict, Amber Heard was present in the courtroom, but Johnny Depp was in the United Kingdom, where he has been performing with Jeff Beck on his tour. Amber Heard’s lawyers did not speak to the press present outside the courthouse and left as soon as the verdict was announced. Johnny Depp’s lawyers and stars Benjamin Chew and Camille Vasquez spoke to the press and expressed how grateful they are to the jury and Judge Penney Azcarate for looking at all the evidence and reaching a decision that is the right one. They said that the verdict confirms what their team has been saying since the beginning: that Johnny Depp did not abuse Amber Heard and she went to lengths to defame the actor.

Benjamin Chew also mentioned that they are so pleased that the trial has resonated with so many people in the public who value truth and justice. 

A source close to Amber Heard mentioned that her lawyer Elaine Bredehoft was too confident and thought that the email from Johnny Depp was enough to prove that he abused Amber Heard and had apologized for the same along with the email exchange with Paul Bettany where he mentioned to the fellow actor that ‘let’s burn her’. The source mentioned that the Amber Heard’s lawyers got too confident and they screwed up.