Johnny Depp wins case against Amber Heard, gets 15 million dollars

Amber Heard has pleaded guilty to libel against her former husband, actor Johnny Depp. That was decided by a jury in Fairfax, Virginia, on Wednesday. The actress has to pay a total of 15 million dollars (14 million euros) to Depp.

The jury found that Depp had also committed defamation against Heard, but in his case a damages of 2 million dollars was imposed. Heard was present at the verdict, Depp watched with a video link from the United Kingdom. The seven-member jury had discussed the verdict for three days, which normally takes a few hours.

In the verdict, the jury considered three sentences from Amber Heard’s opinion piece in the The Washington Post, which prompted Depp to sue Heard. One of those sentences was the title: “I spoke out against sexual violence and faced the wrath of our culture”. The jury found that the statements were incorrect and written with malicious intent.

Three statements that Depp’s lawyer had made on his behalf were also discussed, and here the jury found that libel has been proven in one of the three cases. It was an allegation in the Daily Mail that Amber Heard faked the damage of domestic violence and then called the police.

“The jury has given me my life back,” Depp said, according to Reuters news agency. “I feel humble.” Heard says she is “devastated.” According to the AFP news agency, she speaks of an “unspeakable disappointment”.

Drama series

Johnny Depp sued his ex in 2019 for libel, asking for $50 million in damages. Heard implicitly accused Depp of abuse and domestic violence in The Washington Post, without naming him. According to Depp, he missed roles because of this. For example, Mads Mikkelsen was cast as the villain of the third film from the Fantastic Beastsseries, after Depp filled that role in the first two films.

Heard demanded 100 million dollars from Depp, because he would have called her a liar. The weeks-long lawsuit that followed drew widespread attention on social media. The business became online followed as if it were a drama series; with footage of fights, a photo of a bloodied finger and a “guest appearance” by actress Kate Moss who denied that Depp pushed her down the stairs. In particular, the internet sided with Depp, while Camp-Heard spoke of an online “defamation campaign.”

Also read the analysis: What the case between Johnny Depp and Amber Heard says about our culture

In collaboration with Georgia East

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