American Actor Johnny Depp, Ex-Wife Amber Heard Win $15m, $2m In Defamation Suits Against Each Other

American actor Johnny Depp has won $15 million in a defamation suit he filed against his ex-wife Amber Heard, while the latter won $2 million in a similar suit against her ex-husband.

A jury on Wednesday in Fairfax, Virginia found both Depp and his ex-wife liable for defamation claims and awarded damages to both parties.

Depp was awarded $15 million in his three counts of defamation against Heard while the seven-person jury reached a decision that Depp, through his lawyer Adam Waldman, defamed Heard on one of three counts in her countersuit and she was awarded $2 million.

The ruling comes after three days of deliberation, which ended the seven-week trial that brought emotional testimony recounting Depp and Heard’s tumultuous relationship and its fallout.

Depp, 58, first sued Heard, 36, for $50 million over. She wrote in The Washington Post in 2018 in which she referred to herself as a public figure representing domestic abuse. Heard countersued Depp for $100 million after Waldman called her accusations a hoax.

The trial was held in Virginia, where the printing presses and servers of The Washington Post are located. (The Post was not a defendant in the suit.)

In his defamation suit, Depp was awarded $10 million in compensatory damages and $5 million in punitive damages, while the jury awarded Heard $2 million in compensatory damages.

Heard, during the ruling, kept her eyes down as the verdict was read.

Depp was not present in court, but released a statement that said in part, “the jury gave me my life back. 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,” he said. “I feel at peace knowing I have finally accomplished that.”

He added: “I am, and have been, overwhelmed by the outpouring of love and the colossal support and kindness from around the world. I hope that my quest to have the truth be told will have helped others, men or women, who have found themselves in my situation, and that those supporting them never give up. I also hope that the position will now return to innocent until proven guilty, both within the courts and in the media.”

Following the verdict, Heard immediately released a statement saying she is “heartbroken” over the judgement.

She wrote, “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,” Heard said.

“I’m even more disappointed with what this verdict means for other women,” she continued. “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,” Heard said. “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.”

The duo met in 2009 on the set of their film “The Rum Diary” and were married for 1 year (2015-2016) before divorcing.

Heard, in her testimony, stated that Depp was verbally and physically abusive during their relationship. She also accused Depp of sexual violence.

However, Depp also claimed multiple times that he has never struck a woman and called himself a victim of domestic abuse by his ex-wife, though she denied it.