Johnny Depp wins defamation case against Amber Heard, jury awards $15 million in damages

A US jury ruled on June 1 that actress Amber Heard fabricated defamatory abuse claims against her ex-husband Johnny Depp. The jurors also awarded the American actor $15 million in damages. The Virginia panel of seven concluded that Heard's 2018 article on the "sexual assault" she had experienced was defamatory to Depp and was written with malicious intent, rendering her guilty of libel.

Further, the jury also decided that Depp's lawyer, Adam Waldman, defamed Heard by telling the Daily Mail that her assault claims were a "hoax," and gave her $2 million in damages. The jury made a decision in the high-profile slander case earlier on June 1. The seven-person Virginia jury has been deliberate in Fairfax County Circuit Court near the US capital for nearly 13 hours over three days.

Depp sued Heard in December 2018

On June 2, the case concluded after a six-week trial based on charges and counterclaims of domestic abuse between the Hollywood personalities. It is worth mentioning here that Depp, 58, sued Heard in December 2018 for an op-ed she penned for The Washington Post in which she identified herself as a "public figure representing domestic abuse."

Depp sued Heard for indicating he was a domestic abuser and is seeking $50 million in damages. The Texas-born Heard, who had a major part in "Aquaman," did not name Depp in the piece. Heard, 36, countersued for $100 million, claiming that Depp's lawyer, Adam Waldman, defamed her by telling the Daily Mail that her abuse allegations were a "hoax."

There were 24 questions on Depp's suit against Heard

A specific verdict form with dozens of questions has been diligently completed by the jury. There were 24 questions on Depp's suit against Heard and 18 questions about her countersuit against him on the eight-page verdict form. To win compensatory or punitive damages, the jury had to determine the statements were made with genuine malice — with knowledge that they were untrue or with "reckless disregard" for whether they were false or not.

During the trial, dozens of witnesses testified, including Hollywood celebs, bodyguards, agents, doctors, entertainment industry specialists, friends and relatives. Depp and Heard each testified for days during the televised trial, which was accompanied by a #JusticeForJohnnyDepp social media campaign.

Image: AP