A jury’s verdict that both Johnny Depp and his ex-wife, Amber Heard, were defamed in a long-running public dispute raises questions about whether they can overcome tarnished reputations.
Actor Johnny Depp waves to supporters as he departs the Fairfax County Courthouse Friday, May 27, 2022 in Fairfax, Va. A jury heard closing arguments in Johnny Depp's high-profile libel lawsuit against ex-wife Amber Heard. Lawyers for Johnny Depp and Amber Heard made their closing arguments to a Virginia jury in Depp's civil suit against his ex-wife.
“It was like a Roman coliseum is the best way to describe the atmosphere here. And I have to believe that the jury, even though they’re told not to go and look at anything, you know, they have weekends, they have families, they have social media,” she said. The verdict handed down Wednesday in Fairfax County Circuit Court found that Depp had been defamed by three statements in a 2018 op-ed written by Heard in which she said she was an abuse victim. The jury awarded him $10 million in compensatory damages and $5 million in punitive damages, but the judge reduced the punitive damages award to $350,000 under a state cap.
The jury also awarded Heard $2 million in her countersuit, concluding that she was defamed by a lawyer for Depp who accused her of creating a detailed hoax surrounding the abuse allegations. Depp said he never hit Heard and that she was the abuser, though Heard’s attorneys highlighted years-old text messages Depp sent apologizing to Heard for his behavior as well as profane texts he sent to a friend in which Depp said he wanted to kill Heard and defile her dead body.
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