The jury in Johnny Depp’s defamation lawsuit against Amber Heard ruled Wednesday that the actress did in fact defame Depp by identifying herself as a victim of domestic abuse and awarded Depp $15 million in compensatory and punitive damages, capping a blockbuster trial that has seen immense media coverage over the last several weeks.
The jury of five men and two women reached their unanimous verdict after 13 hours of deliberations, which began on Tuesday afternoon. It also awarded Heard $2 million in damages for a countersuit against Depp for statements made by his lawyer.
Depp, 58, had sued his ex-wife Heard, 36, for $50 million in punitive and compensatory damages for an op-ed in the Washington Post in 2018 — published with her byline but ghostwritten by the American Civil Liberties Union — in which she cast herself as a victim of “domestic abuse” without mentioning Depp explicitly. The jury ruled, on all counts, that Depp was defamed by these statements. $10 million were awarded in compensatory damages while $5 million were awarded in punitive damages.
Heard then countersued for $100 million, claiming that Depp’s attorney Adam Waldman had accused her of falsifying abuse accusations against Depp when he claimed that her friends had staged a sexual assault scene and called 911. Of the three counts of defamation alleged in Waldman’s statement, the jury found only one as defamatory and awarded punitive damages of $2 million, with compensatory damages of $0.
However, under Virginia law, punitive damages in defamation cases are limited to $350,000. This would reduce the effective amount to be collected by Depp to $10,350,000 and to Heard by $350,000.
The trial began on April 11 and was presided over by Judge Penney Azcarate. After the verdict was read, Azcarate polled the jury for its opinions, which confirmed the unanimous verdict. Outside the courtroom, a large group of pro-Depp fans had gathered to demonstrate in Depp’s favor. When Depp’s attorneys emerged to make a brief statement to the media, they were met with cheers.
Heard was stoic as the verdict was read, which had been livestreamed throughout the six weeks of proceedings. Depp was absent from the courtroom for a concert tour in England. As the case was civil, his physical presence was not required; he was reported to have been watching the livestreamed verdict.
In a statement after the verdict, Depp said that his mission had been to “reveal the truth regardless of the outcome.” He added, “I feel at peace, knowing that I have accomplished that…Veritas numquam perit. Truth never perishes.” Heard, through her publicist, said that she was “sad I lost this case,” and felt she had “lost the right I thought I had as an American” to speak freely.
For the last several weeks, the trial — covered intensely by the tabloid press — has revealed lurid details about their two-year relationship.
Depp testified under oath that Heard had defecated in his bed, a charge she denied under oath in responsive testimony. Heard responded that the couple’s Yorkshire terriers had bowel problems after consuming Depp’s cannabis, and that Depp was obsessed with dog feces. Depp’s drug use was brought up frequently in testimony and cross-examination of witnesses.
The trial has assumed widespread cultural significance amid the #MeToo movement, where prominent and powerful men have faced career reprisal over accusations of sexual assault, especially in the entertainment industry. Owing to Heard’s accusations against Depp, he was fired by Disney from the Pirates of the Caribbean movie series, where he had starred in the leading role of ‘Captain Jack Sparrow’ in five blockbuster films and was, at the time, producing a sixth. The ‘Pirates’ franchise has grossed nearly $5 billion since its creation in 2007.
The movement has been criticized, however, for deference to alleged false accusations and eroding the legal presumption of innocence against accused men — a position that supporters of Depp have endorsed. Most recently, the trial was also satirized on NBC’s Saturday Night Live.
The trial also follows a lawsuit in 2020 in an English court filed by Depp against British tabloid newspaper The Sun, for an article where it claimed he was a “wife beater” against Heard. In that case, Judge Andrew Nicol of the High Court of England and Wales ruled against Depp, finding that 12 of the 14 alleged instances of domestic violence by Depp against Heard “had occurred.” Wednesday’s ruling appears to contradict the facts of that judgement, which is not binding in the United States.
Wednesday’s verdict is appealable by both Depp and Heard, though the parties have not announced plans to appeal.