The seven-person jury met for about 13 hours over three days at the Fairfax County Courthouse near the US capital and found that Heard defamed her ex-husband in a 2018 Washington Post article in the US capital. which she described herself as “a public figure representing domestic abuse”.
Already in the counter-complaint filed by Amber Heard against Depp, for defamation, the jurors found the actress right in only a few points, awarding her a compensation of two million dollars (1,876 million euros).
As the BBC reports, the collective jury found Heard’s statements about the marriage to be “false” and conveyed “a defamatory implication” to people other than Depp himself. Jury members also considered that the actress acted with “real malice”.
“Broken Heart” Amber
“The disappointment I feel today is beyond words. I’m heartbroken that the mountain of evidence still hasn’t been enough to resist my ex-husband’s disproportionate power and influence,” Amber Heard said in a statement published immediately afterward. reading the verdict.
“I am even more disappointed with what this verdict means for other women. It is a step backward. It sets the clock back to a time when a woman could be publicly shamed and humiliated. It takes away the idea that violence against women should be taken too seriously,” adds the statement of the actress.
Depp: “They gave me my life back”
Unlike Amber Heard, Johnny Depp was absent from court to read the verdict, having preferred to travel to England, where he participated in recent days in concerts by musician Jeff Beck.
Even so, the actor reacted on social media, has issued a note on Instagram where he considers that this verdict “gives him back his life”, six years after it had “changed drastically” by the “false accusations” that were made against him and that had “a seismic impact” on both his “personal and career life”.
Depp says he feels “at peace that he’s finally been able to prove the truth”, something he says “he owed his kids”.
Six weeks of trial
The final allegations in the case came Friday at the end of a six-week trial based on allegations and counter-allegations of domestic abuse among Hollywood celebrities.
Depp, 58, has filed a lawsuit against Heard over an opinion piece the actress wrote for The Washington Post. Heard, who played a starring role in “Aquaman,” did not name Depp in the play, but the actor sued her for insinuating he was a domestic abuser and sought $50 million in damages. caused to honor, reputation and career.
Heard, 36, also responded with a lawsuit against Depp, asking for compensation of 100 million dollars (94 million euros) and saying that she was defamed by statements made by Depp’s lawyer, Adam Waldman, who told the Daily Mail that his abuse allegations were a “hoax”.
