Posted on 06/01/2022 1:20:55 PM PDT by SeekAndFind
After sitting through six weeks of gut-wrenching testimony and deliberating for nearly 13 hours, the Fairfax County, Va., jury reached its verdict in the Johnny Depp v. Amber Heard defamation trial.
The jury decided unanimously in favor of Depp on Wednesday, finding that Heard intentionally and maliciously defamed the Pirates of the Caribbean star when she wrote her 2018 op-ed in the Washington Post about her experiences as a domestic abuse survivor. Depp was awarded $10 million in compensatory damages and $5 million in punitive damages. Judge Penney Azcarate reduced the punitive damages to Virginia's statutory cap of $350,000.
Heard scored a small victory as the jury found partly in favor of her defamation countersuit, awarding her $2 million in compensatory damages and no punitive damages.
Heard was present in court and appeared shaken as the verdict was announced. "The disappointment I feel today is beyond words," she said in a statement afterward. "I'm heartbroken that the mountain of evidence still was not enough to stand up to the disproportionate power, influence, and sway of my ex-husband."
Depp was not present in the courtroom to hear the verdict but said he was "truly humbled" by the verdict in a statement provided to EW. He added, "From the very beginning, the goal of bringing this case was to reveal the truth, regardless of the outcome. Speaking the truth was something that I owed to my children and to all those who have remained steadfast in their support of me. I feel at peace knowing I have finally accomplished that."
This all began when Depp filed a $50 million defamation suit against Heard over her Washington Post op-ed. Though Heard never named Depp in the piece, his lawyers argued that references to him are clear and damaged his career and reputation. Heard then filed her $100 million countersuit, claiming Depp and his legal team defamed her by calling her allegations a hoax.
The former couple met on set of the 2011 film The Rum Diary and married in 2015. Heard filed for divorce from Depp in 2016, obtaining a domestic violence restraining order against him and accusing him of physically and verbally abusing her during "violent and volatile" episodes. Depp has denied the allegations, accusing Heard of being the abuser in the relationship.
"Truth is the only thing I'm interested in," Depp said on the stand. "Lies will get you nowhere, but lies build upon lies and build upon lies." The actor accused Heard of attacking him, severing the tip of his finger, and leaving human feces on his side of the bed, among other accusations. He said he "never struck" Heard, "nor have I struck any woman in my life." Depp accused Heard of having a "need for violence," and claimed her allegations cost him film roles, including Pirates of the Caribbean 6.
Depp told the court he has lost "nothing less than everything," and that regardless of the outcome of the trial, he has already "lost." He said last month, "When the allegations were made [and] rapidly circulating the globe, telling people that I was a drunken, cocaine-fueled menace who beat women suddenly in my 50s… no matter the outcome of this trial, the second the allegations were made against me [and] turned into fodder for the media… I lost then."
Heard and her legal team has painted a different picture. She accused Depp of punching her, pulling her hair, and sexually assaulting her with a wine bottle. She testified that Depp often over-indulged on cocaine, MDMA, and liquor, and tried to discourage her from acting due to paranoia she was having affairs with costars. Heard also accused Depp of orchestrating a "smear campaign" against her after she accused him of abuse, claiming that she, too, lost job opportunities following Depp's alleged attacks against her in the press, including a now "pared down" role in Aquaman 2.
On the stand, Heard admitted to hitting Depp but said she did so in self-defense. "I had to defend myself the best I could but it was after years of not defending myself," she said. An emotional Heard went on to testify about the lasting impact of the trial: "Embarrassing, intimate details that I never wanted to be known, never wanted to be public ever, and to have them used every single day to call me a liar," Heard said. "I have to relive this every single day that I have to address those claims." She added, "I didn't want this. I don't want to be here."
The ruling in Virginia comes after Depp lost his libel lawsuit against The Sun in 2020. He sued the British newspaper over their use of the word "wife-beater" in a piece centered on Heard's allegations. A judge ruled that the article was "substantially true" and that "the great majority of alleged assaults of Ms. Heard by Mr. Depp have been proved to the civil standard." Depp tried to overturn the ruling but was unsuccessful. Citing the U.K. verdict, Heard initially sought to dismiss the defamation case in Virginia, but Depp was ultimately granted the right to pursue the case in the U.S.
“Depp gets the 5.350 million, “
$10.350 million
no way!!! what the heck happened to her?
“Always liked his movies. Never thought he was a wife-beater, “
Johnny Depp was physically abusive to Amber Heard. People accuse his ex-wife for his actions by saying she ‘egged him on’ so they can still enjoy the fandom fantasy of who he is. Just like his friends and fans claimed his rages and assaults in the past were “just Johnny being Johnny,” merely the kind of “outbursts they have come to expect on occasion from an actor who can be as otherworldly as the character he played in Edward Scissorhands.”
Just like people blamed Mel Gibson’s ex when he hit her, or the alcohol he drank when he called a cop “sugar-tits”. Just like people claim Mia Farrow lied so they can still watch Woody Allen movies in the pleasant denial that he raped his adopted daughter. Just like people have always blamed the victim and given the abuser a pass.
http://www.kyrackramer.com/2020/07/01/johnny-depps-history-of-violence/
I found it very interesting
Depp is nice guy but alcoholic with grievous childhood issues ....like many creative types very sensitive
Heard is a classic attractive shrew
Much smarter and clever and volatile than him
And she lorded over him with her ferocity while he retreated usually
Borderlines don’t like when u retreat
Classic
He was maligned and justice is served
In this woke bullshit era of #metoo they threw her a bone
Depp won all around
Vindicated his career will rebound
I found it entertaining to watch
I can’t deal with doom and gloom and Ukraine ignorance of facts here is just mid numbing
The trial was like a metaphorical Valium for my brain
Plus it made my rib happy
“We quarrel sometimes but nothing like those nuts”
True but my ex wife was a Brasilian Heard...only hotter
“The guy probably get 10 times that for doing a movie.”
He got $3 million for his last in 2020.
Who films and records each other’s fights
In a 15 month marriage
26 years faithful here before scolds chime in
Fascinating.
Well, he told them. And they believed him.
Good Grief, people. Get a life!!!
Maybe she can get gigs working with Stormy Daniels...
“How could the jury both find the allegations that Herd claims were a hoax, and find for Depp?”
There was a claim (by Depp) and a counterclaim (by Heard). Depp won on every count of his claim, and Heard lost on every count of her counterclaim, except for one.
The one count she won on was about a statement that said she and her friends made one call to police, who didn’t see any injuries or damages, and left, and then Amber and her friends trashed the place and spilled wine and called the police a second time.
At trial it was demonstrated that both of the calls to police were made before the police first showed up, even though a second visit by police was dispatched hours later. So that statement actually was proven to be false. I think this was a compromise by the jury, to get every one to vote unanimously, they agreed to concede this one point to Heard, because it was proven false, even if it wasn’t really proven to be done maliciously.
“Depp gets the 5.350 million, and has to give back 2. Net 3.35 mill.”
No, he gets 10.35 million and gives back 2.
“She’s a nutcase. Sure looks like she married him and planned the whole thing as a shake-down.”
Worse. Trying to get it all as a widow of a drug addict who od’d.
He had to fight her because she cost him about $100 million in income through lost opportunities. There were at least three movies in the pipeline that he had but lost when the allegations came to light.
Who cares? This nonsense is getting way too much media coverage.
People kept telling me I should get married.
I just found a woman that already hated me and gave her half my stuff, saved a lot of trouble that way.
“then tried to claim he forgot what the question was.....”
That moment was pure gold when the judge said “we can have the court reporter read it back then” and you could see he was dying inside.
She was arrested for physical abuse of her female “partner”.
Not sure Depp ever was.
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