Johnny Depp x Amber Heard: Jury to resume deliberations on Tuesday (31)

AFP

The jury in the defamation suit brought by actor Johnny Depp, 58, against ex-wife and actress Amber Heard, 36, in Fairfax, Virginia, United States, will resume its deliberations next Tuesday (31). The jurors met this Friday (27) for a few hours after hearing the closing arguments of the actors’ defenses.

Depp is suing Amber over an opinion piece that the actress published in an op-ed for The Washington Post in December 2018, in which she describes herself as a “public figure representing domestic abuse”.

Although the actress did not mention her ex-husband’s name, he is seeking 50 million dollars in damages. Amber filed a counter-accusation, asking for $100 million, on the grounds that she suffered “unrestrained physical violence and abuse”.

In her closing argument, Elaine Bredehoft, a lawyer for the actress, said the lawsuit filed by Depp and a campaign of “global humiliation” has made Amber’s life “sheer hell”. “It destroyed her life. It consumed her. She is receiving death threats,” the lawyer told the seven-person jury.

Benjamin Chew, part of Depp’s legal team, responded that while the “Pirates of the Caribbean” actor is not a “saint” and has had drug and alcohol problems, “he is not a violent abuser.”

“He doesn’t deserve to have his life and legacy destroyed by a cruel lie,” he said. “We ask, we implore you to return your name, your reputation and your career,” said the lawyer.

Bredehoft, in turn, asked the jury to “hold the actor responsible” as “he never accepted responsibility for anything in his life”.

Dozens of witnesses attended the trial, including bodyguards, Hollywood executives, agents, entertainment industry experts, psychiatrists, doctors, friends and family.

Depp and Amber were widely exposed for several days during the televised trial, which attracted hundreds of fans, most notably of the actor.

Jurors listened to audio recordings and videos of the couple’s heated arguments, as well as photos of the injuries Amber claims she suffered during their marriage.

Health experts testified for several hours about a finger injury, which Depp suffered while filming one of the “Pirates of the Caribbean” series in Australia in March 2015.

According to the actress, Depp promised her “worldwide humiliation” if she left him. Amber was the subject of an extensive social media campaign under the motto #JusticeForJohnnyDepp.

Depp said it was “brutal” to hear his ex-wife’s “heinous” and “extravagant” allegations of domestic abuse.

“No human being is perfect, of course not, none of us are, but I have never committed sexual assault or physical abuse in my life,” he said.