Amber Heard was discovered responsible for defaming Johnny Depp in an op-ed revealed in the Washington Post, and Depp was discovered responsible for a press release his legal professional made to the Daily Mail calling her claims a hoax, a jury determined Wednesday. Jurors awarded Depp a complete of $15 million in damages and Heard $2 million.
In a press release posted on Twitter and Instagram Heard mentioned, “The disappointment I feel today is beyond words.” Depp mentioned in a press release posted to Instagram, “the jury gave me my life back.”
The verdict marked the top of a dramatic trial in the civil suit that laid naked the troubled marriage between the celebrities.
CBS News
Depp sued Heard in Fairfax County Circuit Court in Virginia for $50 million over a December 2018 op-ed she wrote in The Washington Post describing herself as “a public figure representing domestic abuse.” His legal professionals say he was defamed by the article though it by no means talked about his identify.
Heard countersued for $100 million, claiming Depp’s legal professional defamed her by calling her abuse allegations a hoax.
The jury notified Judge Penney Azcarate that they reached the decision early in the afternoon, however studying of the decision was delayed so they may fill in the quantity of financial awards on the jury kind.
CBS News authorized contributor Jessica Levinson mentioned the blended verdict signifies that the jury evaluated every of the six statements in isolation and took the claims of defamation fastidiously.
“It wasn’t just a case of, ‘We like Johnny Depp, we don’t like Amber Heard,'” she mentioned, noting that Depp received on all three statements in his suit and Heard received on one of many three in her counterclaim.
“I think the end of the day, the punchline is that the jury found they both lied,” Levinson mentioned.
In his assertion, Depp mentioned, “The goal of bringing this case was to reveal the truth, regardless of the outcome. Speaking the truth was something that I owed to my children and to all those who have remained stedfast in their support of me. I feel at peace knowing I have finally accomplished that.”
Heard, in her assertion, mentioned she is unhappy that that she misplaced the case, however “sadder still that I seem to have lost a right I thought I had as an American — to speak freely and openly.” She mentioned the decision units again girls and the therapy of home violence victims.
The jury started deliberations Friday afternoon, after six weeks of disturbing and generally graphic testimony.
Both Depp and Heard testified twice. The jury additionally heard in depth recordings attorneys mentioned displayed violent habits and noticed textual content messages, together with between Depp and fellow actor Paul Bettany, that mentioned substance use and contained obscene language.
Heard’s sister testified to seeing Depp strike her, and a good friend testified about seeing her cuts and bruises.
Supermodel Kate Moss additionally appeared through video link, including to the spectacle as broadcast cameras in the courtroom captured each twist to an more and more rapt viewers as followers weighed in on social media and lined up in a single day for coveted courtroom seats.
Closing arguments have been delivered Friday. By the time the court docket broke for lunch, jurors had head from attorneys for each Depp and Heard — who then had a mixed 45 minutes to current rebuttal closings later Friday afternoon. The case went to the jury later in the day, for the ultimate stage in what has been six weeks of courtroom drama that peeled again the curtain on the celebrities’ troubled marriage.
The jury was instructed to focus its deliberation not solely on whether or not there was abuse but in addition whether or not Heard’s op-ed piece could be thought-about legally defamatory. The article itself focuses totally on coverage questions of home violence, however Depp’s lawyer level to 2 passages in the article, in addition to an internet headline that they are saying defamed Depp.
