The 3 year old defamation suit by Johnny Depp against his ex-wife, Amber heard came to an end with $15 million awarded to Depp. The former couple divorced in January 2017 with a divorce settlement of US$7 million paid by Depp to Heard, who pledged to donate to the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and the Children’s Hospital Los Angeles (CHLA).
Depp sued Heard in February 2019 over a December 2018 dated op-ed for The Washington Post. Heard, also countersued Depp in August 2020, alleging that he had coordinated “a harassment campaign via Twitter and orchestrating online petitions in an effort to get her fired from Aquaman and L’Oreal”.
The defamation trial took place in Fairfax County, Virginia from April 11, 2022 to June 1, 2022. The jury’s final verdict awarded Depp $10 million in compensatory damages and $5 million in punitive damages from Heard. The punitive damages were reduced to $350,000 due to a limit imposed by Virginia state law.
Heard got a $2 million award from her counter-suit. The jury found that Waldman’s first and third statements to the Daily Mail were not defamatory, while finding that Waldman’s second statement to the Daily Mail was false, defamatory and made with actual malice, but with a zero in punitive damages from Depp.
Depp described the outcome of the trial stating that the “jury gave me my life back. I am truly humbled”. He continued by appreciating the overwhelmed outpouring of love and the colossal support and kindness he received 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”. He added.
Heard expressed her disappointment over the verdict by the jury. She said the verdict is a setback for women. She painted the picture as a gender base bias. “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.” She said.