May 31 (Reuters) – Jurors considering the opposing lawsuits of actors Johnny Depp and Amber Heard deliberated for hours on Tuesday without reaching a verdict in the multimillion-dollar defamation fight that issued disturbing details about their troubled marriage.
The seven-person jury is expected to resume its discussions Wednesday morning at the Fairfax County Circuit Court in Virginia.
Depp, the 58-year-old “Pirates of the Caribbean” star, sued Heard for $ 50 million and argued that he defamed him when he was called “a public figure representing domestic abuse” in an article opinion of a newspaper.
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Heard, 36, sued for $ 100 million, saying Depp insulted her when her lawyer called her allegations “deceptive.”
Depp has denied hitting Heard or any woman and said it was she who became violent in their relationship.
Depp and Heard met in 2011 while filming “The Rum Diary” and were married in February 2015. Their divorce materialized about two years later.
At the heart of the legal case is a December 2018 Heard opinion piece in the Washington Post in which he made a statement about domestic abuse. The article did not mention Depp by name, but his lawyer told jurors that it was clear Heard was referring to him. Read more
During Tuesday’s deliberations, a seven-person jury asked Judge Penney Azcarate whether they should consider the entire article or just the headline. The headline said Heard “spoke out against sexual violence and confronted the anger of our culture.”
Actor Johnny Depp gestures as he leaves Fairfax County Circuit Court after defamation lawsuit against ex-wife Amber Heard in Fairfax, Virginia, USA REUTERS / Evelyn Hockstein
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Azcarate said he would tell the jury that the headline was the statement they should consider to reach their verdict.
During six weeks of testimony, Heard’s lawyers argued that she had told the truth and that her comments were covered as free speech under the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.
Throughout the case, jurors listened to recordings of the couple’s fights and saw graphic photos of Depp’s bleeding finger. He said the top of his finger was cut when Heard threw him a bottle of vodka in 2015.
Heard denied harming Depp’s finger and said Depp sexually assaulted her that night with a bottle of liquor. She said she hit him just to defend herself or her sister.
The testimony was widely broadcast live on social media, and attracted a large audience to hear details about the couple’s difficult relationship.
Once among Hollywood’s biggest stars, Depp said Heard’s accusations cost him “everything.” A new “Pirates” movie was suspended and Depp was replaced in the “Fantastic Beasts” movie franchise, a spin-off of “Harry Potter.”
Depp lost a defamation case less than two years ago against The Sun, a British tabloid that called him a “female hitter”. A London High Court judge ruled that he had repeatedly assaulted Heard.
Depp’s lawyers filed the U.S. case in Fairfax County, Virginia, because the Washington Post is printing there. The newspaper is not a defendant.
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Report by Lisa Richwine; Editing by Daniel Wallis, Mark Porter and Cynthia Osterman
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