Johnny Depp Wins $15 Million in Defamation Lawsuit Against Amber Heard
Johnny Depp Wins $15 Million in Defamation Lawsuit Against Amber Heard
After a lengthy trial, the jury in the Depp-Heard Defamation trial have reached a verdict, awarding Depp with $15 Million in damages. The jury found that Amber Heard defamed Johnny Depp in the 2018 Washington Post column. Depp has been awarded $10M in compensatory damages and $5M in punitive damages. Although Depp won his case, the jury determined that both Depp and Heard had been defamed.
Their verdicts determined that Heard\’s claims in the article were false, and that she acted with \”actual malice\”. This means the jury, consisting of five men and two women, are convinced she made statements knowing that they were false. The outcome may be a surprise to many legal experts, particularly after Depp lost his libel case in the UK against The Sun in 2020.
Johnny Depp has issued a statement via social media, saying \”I am truly humbled\”. Within 10 minutes, his statement on Instagram has received over 1.2 million likes. Depp was not in attendance and watched live from the UK. In contrast, Heard was in court to hear the verdict alongside both legal teams.
In a statement, Amber Heard slammed the verdict saying \”the disappointment I feel today is beyond words\”. Although Heard is ordered to pay $15M to Depp, she won one of her counterclaims – winning $2 Million in compensatory damages.
