Jury decides in favor of Johnny Depp and finds that Amber Heard defamed her ex-husband

After seven weeks of depositions and nearly four-day deliberations, the jury, made up of seven people, whose identity must be preserved for a year, announced this Tuesday (1st) the verdict in the case involving the actors and ex-couple. Johnny Depp and Amber Heard.

The “Pirates of the Caribbean” star was seeking $50 million in damages over an article by Amber Heard on domestic violence published in the “Washington Post” in 2018, claiming that he had been defamed by his ex-wife. By winning the process, depp will receive US$ 15 million from heard.

The actress of “Aquaman” was asking twice as much (US$ 100 million) for statements made by a former lawyer in depp calling his account a “farce”. Each of the actors claimed to have been abused during the time they were together.

Johnny Depp was not present in court and watched the decision via video from England, where he is meeting to perform with Jeff Beck. Amber Heard witnessed the decision in court.

The defamation trial was broadcast live on the internet between April 11 and the last day 27, which generated great repercussion for the troubled relationship experienced by the two while they were a couple. On social media, the hashtags “#JusticeForJohnnyDepp” and “#JusticeForAmberHeard” were among the most talked about topics throughout the period.

UNDERSTAND THE CASE

Johnny Depp58 years old, and Amber Heard, 36 years old, started dating in 2011 after working together in the feature “Diary of a Drunk Journalist”. They got married in 2015 and two years later completed their divorce.

Over the course of seven weeks, the jury heard a series of depositions, recordings of the ex-couple’s fights. In one case, Depp claimed he had his fingertip cut off after being hit by a bottle of vodka thrown by his then-wife.

heard denied the allegation, stating that depp sexually assaulted her that night with a bottle of liquor, which she wasn’t sure was broken or not. In another case, the actress admitted that she assaulted her ex-husband out of fear of what he might do to her sister.

On several occasions, depp denied having hit heard or any woman and said that she was the one who became violent in their relationship. He said the allegations of heard cost you”allThe actor lost his role as Captain Jack Sparrow in a new “Pirates of the Caribbean” movie – although he said he would never play the character again – and was replaced in the “Fantastic Beasts” film franchise. spin off of “Harry Potter”, by the actor Mads Mikkelsen.

Less than two years ago, depp lost a defamation case against the British newspaper “The Sun”, which labeled him “wife beater“. A London High Court judge ruled that he had assaulted heard repeatedly. The lawyers of depp filed the case in the state of Virginia this time, as it is the printing location of the “Washington Post”, although the paper is not a defendant.