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A jury awarded Johnny Depp more than $10 million on Wednesday in his lawsuit against his ex-wife Amber Heard.
Depp sued Heard for $50 million after she wrote an op-ed for The Washington Post in 2018 in which she called herself a "public figure representing domestic abuse." Heard countersued Depp for $100 million.
The jury also found Heard was defamed by a lawyer for Depp who accused her of creating a detailed hoax that included roughing up their apartment to look worse for police. The jury awarded her $2 million in damages.
The verdicts bring the 6 week trial that Depp had hoped would help restore his reputation. Heard, who was stoic in the courtroom as the verdict was read, said she was heartbroken.
In a statement posted on social media, Heard said, “The disappointment I feel today is beyond words. I'm heartbroken that the mountain of evidence still was not enough to stand up to the disproportionate power, influence, and sway of my ex-husband.“
Depp said, "The jury gave me my life back. I am truly humbled. I hope that my quest to have the truth be told will have helped others, men or women, who have found themselves in my situation, and that those supporting them never give up.”
The jury found Depp should receive $10 million in compensatory damages and $5 million in punitive damages, but the judge said state law caps punitive damages at $350,000, meaning Depp was awarded $10.35 million.
Amber Heard says her loss in the Johnny Depp defamation case is a "setback" for women who speak out. She feels she's lost her right to freedom of speech in the process.
Heard said, "The disappointment I feel today is beyond words. I'm heartbroken that the mountain of evidence still was not enough to stand up to the disproportionate power, influence, and sway of my ex-husband. I’m even more disappointed with what this verdict means for other women. It is a setback. It sets back the clock to a time when a woman who spoke up and spoke out could be publicly shamed and humiliated. It sets back the idea that violence against women is to be taken seriously.”
Heard also said, “I believe Johnny’s attorneys succeeded in getting the jury to overlook the key issue of Freedom of Speech and ignore evidence that was so conclusive that we won in the UK. I’m sad I lost this case. But I am sadder still that I seem to have lost a right I thought I had as an American – to speak freely and openly.”
Source: TMZ, ABC.
Photo Credit: Drew Angerer/Getty Images.