The jury in the Johnny Depp-Amber Heard defamation trial has ruled in favor of Johnny Depp, finding that a Washington Post editorial which she wrote defamed her former husband.
The jurors’ unanimous decision on Wednesday capped a seven-week trial in a Virginia courtroom which featured dozens of witnesses and experts weighing in on whether Depp was abusive to Heard – or vice versa – during their 15-month marriage.
Heard won on one count of her countersuit, in which she demanded $100m and argued she was defamed by a Depp press agent who called her allegations “an abuse hoax” aimed at capitalising on the #MeToo movement.
Depp was not present for the verdict and watched from the UK. Heard was in the courtroom as the verdict was read out.
The jury started deliberations last Friday afternoon.
The case turned on a December 2018 opinion piece Heard wrote in the Post, describing herself as “a public figure representing domestic abuse”.
Heard did not name Depp in the piece. The 58-year-old actor sued anyway, demanding $50m.
In final arguments, attorneys for Heard told the panel ruling against her would mean they were telling abuse victims: “If you didn’t take pictures, it didn’t happen. If you didn’t seek medical attention, you weren’t injured.”
The lawyer Benjamin Rottenborn said Heard deserved to win the case if jurors believed she “was abused by Mr Depp even one time … and we’re not just talking about physical abuse, psychological … sexual abuse”.
Lawyers for Depp sought to convince jurors Heard lied about abuse, citing records in which the actor admits to hitting Depp and calling him “a baby”.
Recordings of Depp admitting to hitting Heard were not introduced as evidence at the trial because “it didn’t happen”, Depp attorney Camille Vasquez said.
The jury in the Johnny Depp-Amber Heard defamation trial has ruled in favor of Johnny Depp, finding that a Washington Post editorial which she wrote defamed her former husband.
The jurors’ unanimous decision on Wednesday capped a seven-week trial in a Virginia courtroom which featured dozens of witnesses and experts weighing in on whether Depp was abusive to Heard – or vice versa – during their 15-month marriage.
Heard won on one count of her countersuit, in which she demanded $100m and argued she was defamed by a Depp press agent who called her allegations “an abuse hoax” aimed at capitalising on the #MeToo movement.
Depp was not present for the verdict and watched from the UK. Heard was in the courtroom as the verdict was read out.
The jury started deliberations last Friday afternoon.
The case turned on a December 2018 opinion piece Heard wrote in the Post, describing herself as “a public figure representing domestic abuse”.
Heard did not name Depp in the piece. The 58-year-old actor sued anyway, demanding $50m.
In final arguments, attorneys for Heard told the panel ruling against her would mean they were telling abuse victims: “If you didn’t take pictures, it didn’t happen. If you didn’t seek medical attention, you weren’t injured.”
The lawyer Benjamin Rottenborn said Heard deserved to win the case if jurors believed she “was abused by Mr Depp even one time … and we’re not just talking about physical abuse, psychological … sexual abuse”.
Lawyers for Depp sought to convince jurors Heard lied about abuse, citing records in which the actor admits to hitting Depp and calling him “a baby”.
Recordings of Depp admitting to hitting Heard were not introduced as evidence at the trial because “it didn’t happen”, Depp attorney Camille Vasquez said.