Johnny Depp wins defamation lawsuit against Amber Heard

After six weeks of trial with evidence and witnesses, the jury ruled in favor of Johnny Depp, 58, in the defamation suit he was bringing against ex-wife Amber Heard, 36, who accused him of domestic violence. The reading of the verdict took place on the afternoon of this Wednesday (1st), the third day of deliberation.

The reading was taken in front of Heard, who followed along with his lawyers and kept his eyes down and his features weeping the entire time. Depp did not attend due to commitments he had already established in the UK. He even performed twice with guitarist Jeff Beck in the last few days.

Under the ruling, Depp was to receive US$10 million (R$48.1 million) in compensatory damages and US$5 million (R$24 million) in punitive damages. But the actress won part of the lawsuit and, for that, would receive US$ 2 million (R$ 9.6 million), for Depp’s lawyer having accused her of making up a story for the police under the direction of her lawyer and publicist.

According to TMZ, in addition, the judge in the case reduced the punitive damages to $5 million for Johnny, as Virginia law limits punitive damages in these cases. As a result, the compensation that the actor is expected to receive from the actress was US$ 8.35 million (R$ 40.1 million).

The decision was made by seven people — men and women; whites, blacks and Asians; between 20 and 50 years old — who formed the jury. They were chosen because they were considered exempt by the lawyers of both teams. Judge Penney Azcarate has granted Amber Heard’s request and ruled that the identities of these seven people will be kept secret for a year.

The public trial began on April 11 in a Virginia courthouse. The “Pirates of the Caribbean” star was suing his ex-wife for defamation after she accused him of assault. While Depp wanted to receive US$ 50 million (about R$ 238 million), Amber counterattacked and asked for double, US$ 100 million (about R$ 476 million).

Although the spotlight on the case has only now been turned on with real-time coverage, the feud between the two, who met in 2009 while filming the feature “Diary of a Drunken Journalist”, began in 2018. It was after she wrote an opinion piece in the Washington Post about being a survivor of domestic violence. She didn’t name Depp, but he felt hit.

In the testimonies in court, what was seen were opposing views on what was the conjugal life of the two. Text messages from the actor to friends were exposed, recordings of the couple’s fights, alleged betrayals of Amber with James Franco and Elon Musk, photo of the actor’s severed finger during a fight, marks that would be aggression on the actress’s body and even accusation of that Amber defecated in the bed she shared with Depp.

In the accounts, each day, both of them made accusations of mutual violence, verbal and physical. In addition, the two complained that all this controversy would have affected their careers. A petition to remove Amber from “Aquaman 2” received more than 4 million signatures, and Depp’s team claimed he missed out on opportunities in films such as the “Pirates of the Caribbean” sequel and was left with a scuffed image.

Amber insisted that Depp abused alcohol and drugs and, with that, he became violent. In response, her ex-husband said that she was the one who abused him physically and emotionally to the point where he reacted. The clash between the two mobilized even the artistic class that took sides for one or the other.

Among the witnesses who were present were Depp’s ex-girlfriend in the 1990s, Ellen Barkin, who said he already had a jealous and controlling behavior back then. Actress Kate Moss, with whom he also had a romance, denied that she was pushed down a ladder by him, as Amber implied. A psychologist, summoned by Depp’s team, testified that Heard suffered from two personality disorders.