FAIRFAX, Va. –
A jury finding that both Johnny Depp and his ex-wife, Amber Heard, were slandered in a lengthy public dispute ended in a six-week trial that also raised questions about whether the two actors can overcome the damaged reputation. .
The verdict handed down in Virginia on Wednesday found that Depp had been defamed for three statements in an opinion piece written by Heard in which he said he was a victim of abuse. The jury awarded him more than $ 10 million. But jurors also concluded that Heard was defamed by a Depp attorney who accused her of creating a detailed hoax on allegations of abuse. He received $ 2 million.
Depp had hoped the defamation suit would help restore his reputation. However, legal and entertainment experts said the reputation of both actors has been damaged by ugly details about their brief marriage that came out during the televised trial seen by millions of people.
“Both will work again, but I think it will be some time before a big studio considers them safe enough to bet,” said former entertainment lawyer Matthew Belloni, who writes about the Hollywood business for the newsletter. Puck. . “The personal luggage that was revealed at this trial was too unpleasant for a studio to want to deal with.”
The case captivated viewers who watched TV coverage from hammer to hammer, including passionate followers on social media who analyzed the actors ’gestures, their costume choices, and their alcohol and drug use.
Both performers emerge with unclear prospects for their careers. Depp, a three-time Oscar nominee for Best Actor, was a profitable star until recent years, with credits such as playing Captain Jack Sparrow in the “Pirates of the Caribbean” movies. However, he lost that role and was replaced in a spin-off of “Fantastic Beasts”.
Heard’s acting career has been more modest, and her only two upcoming roles are in a small film and the upcoming sequel “Aquaman” to be released next year.
Eric Rose, an expert in crisis management and communications in Los Angeles, described the trial as a “classic murder-suicide” in terms of damage to both careers.
“From a reputation management perspective, there can be no winners,” he said. “They’ve bled each other. Now it’s harder for studios to hire either actor because you’re potentially alienating a large segment of your audience who might not like the fact that you’ve hired Johnny or Amber for a specific project because feelings are so strong now. “
Heard, who attended court Wednesday and was stoic while the verdict was read, said she was broken by what she described as a setback for women in general.
“I’m even more disappointed with what this verdict means to other women. It’s a setback. It sets the clock back to a time when a woman who spoke and spoke out could be publicly humiliated. women must be taken seriously, “she said in a statement on her Twitter account.
Depp, who was not in court on Wednesday, said “the jury brought me back to life. I’m really humble.”
“I hope my search for the truth has helped others, men and women, who have found themselves in my situation, and that those who support them will never give up,” she said in a statement on Instagram.
Depp sued Heard over defamation at Fairfax County Circuit Court for a December 2018 opinion piece he wrote in The Washington Post describing himself as “a public figure representing domestic abuse.” The essay never mentioned his name.
The jury ruled in favor of Depp in all three statements related to specific statements of the piece.
In assessing Heard’s counterclaims, the jury considered three statements from a Depp attorney who described his allegations as a hoax. They found out that she was defamed by one of them, in which the lawyer claimed that she and her friends “spilled some wine and ruined the place, got their stories right,” and called the police.
While the case was ostensibly about defamation, most of the testimony focused on whether Heard had been physically and sexually abused, as she claimed. Heard listed more than a dozen alleged assaults, including a fight in Australia, where Depp was filming a sequel to “Pirates of the Caribbean,” in which Depp lost the tip of his middle finger and Heard said he was sexually assaulted. with a bottle of liquor.
Depp said she never beat Heard and that she was the aggressor, although Heartd’s lawyers highlighted old text messages that Depp sent to apologize to Heard for his behavior, as well as profane texts that he sent a friend in which Depp said he wanted to kill Heard and desecrate his body.
Brett Ward, a New York family law attorney, said Depp became a more credible witness in admitting to using drugs and alcohol and could be a difficult person. But he said Depp also ran the risk of making those moments more memorable to the audience than his film work.
“He says he did this for his kids. After seeing the whole trial, I don’t think he did any service to his kids by ventilating all that dirty clothes,” Ward said in an interview.
“But if that was worth it for Johnny Depp, we’ll know in five years’ time if he’s re-established as a Hollywood actor on the A-list. And if he doesn’t? I think he’s made a terrible mistake because most of “People will not do it. They remember their career in Hollywood quite well. They will remember this trial.”
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Associated Press writers Lindsey Bahr and John Carruci contributed to this report.