The jury in the defamation trial opposing Johnny Depp and Amber Heard reached a verdict on the third day of deliberations, finding in favour of Depp.
Depp sued Heard for $50m for implying he abused her in a 2018 Washington Post op-ed. Although she didn’t name him, he claims her allegations impacted his ability to work. She pursued a $100m counterclaim.
The jury found that Heard defamed Depp on all three counts and awarded him $10m in compensatory damages and $5m in punitive damages.
Heard was found to have a partial win in her case and was awarded $2m in compensatory damages, but no punitive damages.
In closing arguments on Friday, Depp’s lawyers asked jurors to “give him his life back” after it was “ruined” by Heard’s domestic abuse allegations. They called her claims an act of profound cruelty to true survivors and said that she gave the performance of her life on the stand.
In their closing, Heard’s lawyers said ruling in favour of Depp would make jurors an “accomplice” to his abuse and to his “campaign of global humiliation”, adding that he engaged in “victim-blaming at its most disgusting”.
Source: independent.co.uk
