The jury has decided in favor of Johnny Depp.
A little background: Johnny sued his ex wife Amber Heard for $50 million in damages for a 2018 op-ed she published about domestic abuse, in which she did not mention his name. He has and continues to vehemently deny all allegations of domestic abuse. Amber countersued Johnny for $100 million for comments that his former lawyer made to the Daily Mail back in 2020 saying it was all a hoax.
Johnny and Amber have been in a very high-profile trial for several weeks. They both took the stand during the trial. Now, the jury has made their official decision.
The jury ultimately decided that Amber did defame Johnny on all three counts against her with the op-ed she wrote in 2018. They awarded damages to him, and ordered her to pay him $15 million in damages. Amber will only have to pay $10.35 million because of a law cap on punitive damages in Virginia.
However, Johnny was also found guilty by the jury on one count out of three in Amber;s countersuit. He will have to pay her $2 million.
Johnny released a statement following the verdict. Read it here:
“Six years ago, my life, the life of my children, the lives of those closest to me, and also, the lives of the people who for many, many years have supported and believed in me, were forever changed. All in the blink of an eye.
False, very serious and criminal allegations were levied at me via the media, which triggered an endless barrage of hateful content, although no charges were ever brought against me. It had already traveled around the world twice within a nanosecond and it had a seismic impact on my life and my career.
And six years later, the jury gave me my life back. I am truly humbled.
My decision to pursue this case, knowing very well the height of the legal hurdles that I would be facing and the inevitable, worldwide spectacle into my life, was only made after considerable thought.
[My goal] was to reveal the truth, regardless of the outcome. I feel at peace knowing I have finally accomplished that.”
Amber also released a statement about the jury’s official decision. Read it here:
“The disappointment I feel today is beyond words.
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. I’m even more disappointed with what this verdict means for other women. It is a setback. It sets back the clock to a time when a woman who spoke up and spoke out could be publicly shamed and humiliated. It sets back the idea that violence against women is to be taken seriously.
I believe Johnny’s attorneys succeeded in getting the jury to overlook the key issue of Freedom of Speech and ignore evidence that was so conclusive that we won in the UK.
I’m sad I lost this case. But I am sadder still that I seem to have lost a right I thought I had as an American – to speak freely and openly.”
