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| Johnny Depp has won his defamation case against ex-wife Amber Heard, whom he sued over claims of domestic abuse |
A Virginia jury on Wednesday ruled that actor Amber Heard defamed ex-husband Johnny Depp in a widely watched six-week trial that featured explicit and graphic evidence and testimony detailing the former Hollywood coupleโs soured relationship.
The jury also ruled in favor of Heard in some aspects of her counter-suit against Depp.
The jury awarded Depp $15 million in damages from Heard. The panel awarded Heard $2 million in damages.
Depp, the 58-year-old โPirates of the Caribbeanโ star, sued Heard for $50 million and argued that she defamed him when she called herself โa public figure representing domestic abuseโ in a newspaper opinion piece.
Heard, 36, countersued for $100 million, saying Depp smeared her when his lawyer called her accusations a โhoax.โ
Depp has denied hitting Heard or any woman and said she was the one who turned violent in their relationship.
Depp and Heard met in 2011 while filming โThe Rum Diaryโ and wed in February 2015. Their divorce was finalized about two years later.
At the centre of the legal case is a December 2018 opinion piece by Heard in the Washington Post in which she made the statement about domestic abuse. The article did not mention Depp by name but his lawyer told jurors it was clear that Heard was referring to him. Read full story
During six weeks of testimony, Heardโs attorneys argued that she had told the truth and that her comments were covered as free speech under the U.S. Constitutionโs First Amendment.
Throughout the case, jurors listened to recordings of the coupleโs fights and saw graphic photos of Deppโs bloody finger. He said the top of the finger was severed when Heard threw a vodka bottle at him in 2015.
Heard denied injuring Deppโs finger and said Depp sexually assaulted her that night with a liquor bottle. She said she struck him only to defend herself or her sister.
Testimony was livestreamed widely on social media, drawing large audiences to hear details about the coupleโs troubled relationship.
Once among Hollywoodโs biggest stars, Depp said Heardโs allegations cost him โeverything.โ A new โPiratesโ movie was put on hold and Depp was replaced in the โFantastic Beastsโ film franchise, a โHarry Potterโ spinoff.
Depp lost a libel case less than two years ago against the Sun, a British tabloid that labeled him a โwife beater.โ A London High Court judge ruled that he had repeatedly assaulted Heard.
Deppโs lawyers filed the U.S. case in Fairfax County, Virginia, because the Washington Post is printed there. The newspaper is not a defendant.
