Amber Heard and Johnny Depp were found responsible for defamation in their lawsuits against each other on Wednesday, with a jury awarding damages to both of them.
Depp sued Heard, his ex-wife, for defamation over a 2018 opinion piece he wrote for The Washington Post in which he described himself as a “public figure representing domestic abuse.”
Although Depp was not named in the article, he claims it cost him lucrative acting roles. Heard sued her ex-husband for defamation of Depp’s attorney’s statements about his abuse claims.
The jury began deliberating on May 27 after hearing more than 100 hours of eyewitness testimony.
Weighing the claims, the jury found that the two exes slandered each other and awarded Depp $ 10 million in compensatory damages and $ 5 million in punitive damages. Heard received $ 2 million in compensatory damages and no punitive damages. (Punitive damages in the state of Virginia have a limit of $ 350,000, so the judge reduced Depp’s punitive damages award to that amount.)
Depp sued for $ 50 million in damages and Heard sued for $ 100 million.
Then read his full reactions to the verdict.
STATEMENT BY JOHNNY DEPP
“Six years ago, my life, the lives of my children, the lives of those closest to me, and also the lives of people who for many, many years have supported me and believed in me changed forever.
All in the blink of an eye.
The media filed false, very serious and criminal allegations against me, which triggered an endless barrage of hate content, even though no charges were ever brought against me. I had already traveled the world twice in a nanosecond and it had a seismic impact on my life and career.
And six years later, the jury brought me back to life. I am really humble.
My decision to pursue this case, knowing very well the height of the legal obstacles I would face and the inevitable global spectacle in my life, was only taken after considerable reflection.
From the outset, the goal of this case was to reveal the truth, regardless of the outcome. To tell the truth was something I owed to my children and all those who have stood firm in my support. I feel at peace knowing that I have finally made it.
I am, and have been, overwhelmed by the outpouring of love and the colossal support and kindness from around the world. I hope that my quest to tell the truth has helped others, men and women, who have found themselves in my situation, and that those who support them never give up. I also hope that now the charge will be innocent again until proven guilty, both in court and in the media.
I want to acknowledge the noble work of the judge, the jurors, the court staff and the sheriffs who have sacrificed their own time to get to this point, and my diligent and unwavering legal team who did an extraordinary job in helping me to share the truth.
The best is yet to come and a new chapter has finally begun.
The truth is never lost.
The truth is never lost. “
AMBER HEARD STATEMENT
“The disappointment I feel today is beyond words. My heart is broken because the mountain of evidence was still not enough to deal with my ex-husband’s disproportionate power, influence and dominance.
I am even more disappointed with what this verdict means to other women. It’s a setback. Put the clock back on a time when a woman who was talking and talking could be embarrassed and humiliated publicly. It rejects the idea that violence against women should be taken seriously.
I think Johnny’s lawyers managed to get the jury to overlook the key issue of free speech and ignore the so conclusive evidence we won in the UK.
I’m sorry I lost this case. But I’m even sadder because he seems to have lost a right he thought he had as an American: to speak freely and openly. “