Actor Johnny Depp was successful in his libel lawsuit against ex-wife Amber Heard, with a jury ruling in his favour on Wednesday. He had alleged that Heard fabricated claims that she was abused by Depp before and during their brief marriage. In a statement, Depp said: "The jury gave me my life back. I am truly humbled," Depp said "From the very beginning, the goal of bringing this case was to reveal the truth, regardless of the outcome," he said. The jury also found in favour of Heard, who said she was defamed by Depp's lawyer when he called her abuse allegations a hoax.
Jury members found Depp should be awarded $15 million in damages, while Heard should receive $2 million.
The verdicts bring an end to a televised trial that Depp had hoped would help restore his reputation, though it turned into a spectacle of a vicious marriage. Fans overwhelmingly on Depp's side lined up overnight to grab a seat in the courtroom. Spectators who couldn't get in lined up on the street to cheer Depp and jeer Heard whenever either appeared outside. Depp sued Heard for libel in Fairfax County Circuit Court over a December 2018 op-ed she wrote in The Washington Post describing herself as a public figure representing domestic abuse. His lawyers said he was defamed by the article even though it never mentioned his name.
For six weeks, testimony focused on details of alleged abuse that Heard says she suffered at the hands of Depp. Heard has outlined more than a dozen specific instances where she says she was assaulted by Depp.
In closing arguments, though, Depp lawyer Camille Vasquez argued that Heard's free-speech rights have limits. The First Amendment doesn't protect lies that hurt and defame people, she said. Depp's lawyers point to two passages in the article that they say clearly refer to Depp. In the first passage, Heard writes that two years ago, I became a public figure representing domestic abuse, and I felt the full force of our culture's wrath. Depp's lawyers call it a clear reference to Depp, given that Heard publicly accused Depp of domestic violence in 2016 two years before she wrote the article.
