Johnny Depp
won,
Amber Heard
defamed him: the jury of the Fairfax trial in
Virginia
reached the verdict.
This is the verdict of the jury after six weeks of trial and 13 hours of deliberations in the council chamber.
Amber welcomed the reading of the sentence with her head down.
Johnny is still in Great Britain and shortly before his favorable judgment was read he was photographed in a Newcastle pub.
The actor sued his ex-wife asking for "at least" $ 50 million in damages on the basis of an op-ed she signed in the Washington Post in 2018. The article titled "I spoke out against sexual violence and had to in the face of the wrath of our culture. That has to change "did not mention Depp by name.
Amber raised with a counterclaim when one of his lawyers called her charges "a scam."
Amber Heard will have to pay her ex-husband
15 million dollars
in damages for having defamed him: a figure lower than the 50 million requested by the actor but still gigantic and more than double the alimony received at the time of the divorce.
Johnny Depp
will also
have to compensate Amber Heard albeit to a lesser extent than she will.
The jurors in fact awarded the actress a fee of 2 million dollars for when the ex-husband's lawyer called her accusations "a scam".
THE REACTIONS
"The disappointment I feel today is beyond words,"
Amber Heard
said after the verdict.
"I had brought a mountain of evidence, but it wasn't enough to resist my ex-husband's disproportionate power and influence," the actress said, noting that the verdict represents "a throwback to a time when a woman who dared to speak out. against domestic violence she was publicly humiliated ".
"The jury gave me back my life", the words of
Johnny Depp
.
THE PROCESS
The media-intensive process lasted
six weeks
during which Depp and Heard have torn each other apart by describing, from opposite points of view, a marriage of horrors based on mutual violence under the effects of his jealousy, alcohol and drugs.
Amber and Johnny, who had met in 2011 on the set of "The Rum Diary", had married in 2015, but the union was wrecked almost immediately and in 2016 she had filed for divorce also obtaining an injunction from the judiciary to avoid that her ex-husband could get close to her.
Demanding "at least" $ 50 million in damages, Depp accused Heard of destroying her career and reputation with a December 2018 editorial in the Washington Post to coincide with her film "Aquaman".
In the article, actually written by lawyers from
civil rights organization American Civil Liberties Union, Amber had called herself "a public figure representing domestic violence."
After more than a year of legal skirmishes, the actress counter-sued Johnny, claiming she was defamed in her turn when his lawyer, Adam Waldman, called her allegations "a scam."
Seven people - five men and three women - worked on the verdict.
To determine which of the two won the case, they had to examine a mountain of elements, evaluating who had brought more, and with greater weight, to prove that he had been defamed and if there was "clear and convincing evidence that it was done. with true malice ".
ANSA.it
Depp vs Heard: Johnny and Amber think ahead - Lifestyle
Johnny Depp plays for the second time at the Royal Albert Hall and invites Kate Moss to applaud him.
Amber Heard is retired to her "sanctuary home" in the California desert with one-year-old daughter Oonagh Paige.
(HANDLE)
DEPP WAS NOT IN THE CLASSROOM
Johnny Depp was not present at the reading of the verdict because he is still in Great Britain where he played with Jeff Beck at the Royal Albert Hall in London.
"Due to work commitments made before the trial, he will not physically be in the courtroom, but will log in to watch the outcome of the dispute from the United Kingdom", said a source close to the plaintiff.
Johnny Depp was then photographed in a Newcastle pub shortly before the verdict.
"His absence shows what his priorities are. Johnny plays guitar in Britain while Amber awaits a verdict in Virginia. Depp takes his cynicism and lack of seriousness on tour," an
Amber Heard
spokesperson said. 'absence of the ex-husband from
A small crowd, nothing compared to the "hot" days of the trial, gathered outside the court.
A woman was holding a billboard decorated with hearts and the words "Justice for Johnny".
Johnny Depp is expected to close the Umbria Jazz on July 17th
THE REACTIONS