A Virginia jury on Wednesday dominated that actor Amber Heard defamed ex-husband Johnny Depp in a broadly watched six-week trial that featured express and graphic proof and testimony detailing the previous Hollywood couple’s soured relationship.
The jury additionally dominated in favor of Heard in some points of her counter-suit in opposition to Depp.
🚨 Limited Time Offer | Express Premium with ad-lite for simply Rs 2/ day 👉🏽 Click right here to subscribe 🚨
The jury awarded Depp $15 million in damages from Heard. The panel awarded Heard $2 million in damages.
Best of Express PremiumPremiumPremiumPremiumPremium
Depp, the 58-year-old “Pirates of the Caribbean” star, sued Heard for $50 million and argued that she defamed him when she referred to as herself “a public figure representing domestic abuse” in a newspaper opinion piece.
Heard, 36, countersued for $100 million, saying Depp smeared her when his lawyer referred to as her accusations a “hoax.”
Depp has denied hitting Heard or any lady and stated she was the one who turned violent of their relationship.
Depp and Heard met in 2011 whereas filming “The Rum Diary” and wed in February 2015. Their divorce was finalized about two years later.
At the middle of the authorized case is a December 2018 opinion piece by Heard within the Washington Post wherein she made the assertion about home abuse. The article didn’t point out Depp by identify however his lawyer informed jurors it was clear that Heard was referring to him.
During six weeks of testimony, Heard’s attorneys argued that she had informed the reality and that her feedback have been lined as free speech below the U.S. Constitution’s First Amendment.
Throughout the case, jurors listened to recordings of the couple’s fights and noticed graphic pictures of Depp’s bloody finger. He stated the highest of the finger was severed when Heard threw a vodka bottle at him in 2015.
Heard denied injuring Depp’s finger and stated Depp sexually assaulted her that night time with a liquor bottle. She stated she struck him solely to defend herself or her sister.
Testimony was livestreamed broadly on social media, drawing giant audiences to listen to particulars in regards to the couple’s troubled relationship.
Once amongst Hollywood’s greatest stars, Depp stated Heard’s allegations price him “everything.” A brand new “Pirates” film was placed on maintain and Depp was changed within the “Fantastic Beasts” movie franchise, a “Harry Potter” spinoff.
Depp misplaced a libel case lower than two years in the past in opposition to the Sun, a British tabloid that labeled him a “wife beater.” A London High Court choose dominated that he had repeatedly assaulted Heard.
Depp’s legal professionals filed the U.S. case in Fairfax County, Virginia, as a result of the Washington Post is printed there. The newspaper will not be a defendant.