After 13 hours of deliberation, the jury in the Johnny Depp vs. Amber Heard trial has reached a decision in the Fairfax, Virginia case.
The jury awarded him $15 million in damages in a decision that was largely in his favor. The jury determined that Depp’s attorney made one defamatory statement against Heard and awarded her $2 million as a result. The jury had not completed it before the judge asked them to reconvene to fill out the compensatory damages section of their verdict form.
“The disappointment I feel today is beyond words,” Heard, 36, wrote in a statement shared on social media in response to the nearly one-sided verdict. I’m heartbroken that the mountain of evidence was insufficient to overcome my ex-disproportionate husband’s power, influence, and sway.
“What this verdict means for other women makes me even more disappointed,” she added. “It’s a setback,” says the narrator. It turns the clock back to a time when a woman who spoke up and spoke out could be publicly humiliated and shamed. It undermines the notion that women’s violence should be taken seriously. “
“I believe Johnny’s attorneys were successful in convincing the jury to overlook the key issue of freedom of speech and ignore evidence that was so conclusive that we won in the United Kingdom,” she continued, before adding, “I’m sorry I lost this case.” But I’m even more disappointed that I appear to have lost a right that I thought I had as an American: the right to speak freely and openly. “
In a statement, Depp, 58, said: “Six years ago, my life, the lives of my children, the lives of those closest to me, and also the lives of the people who have supported and believed in me for many, many years were forever changed.” “It was all over in the blink of an eye.”
“False, very serious, and criminal allegations were leveled against me in the media, resulting in an endless barrage of hateful content, despite the fact that no charges were ever filed against me,” he continued. “Within a nanosecond, it had already traveled around the world twice, and it had had a seismic impact on my life and career.”
“And then the jury gave me my life back six years later,” he said. “I’m genuinely humbled.”
“I only pursued this case after considerable thought,” he continued, “knowing very well the height of the legal hurdles that I would be facing and the inevitable, worldwide spectacle in my life.”
“My initial goal in bringing this case was to reveal the truth, regardless of the outcome,” Depp said. I owed it to my children and all those who have remained steadfast in their support for me to tell the truth. I’m relieved that I’ve finally completed that task.
The outpouring of love and the colossal support and kindness from around the world has overwhelmed me,” Depp said, adding that he hopes “my quest to have the truth be told has helped others, men or women, who have found themselves in my situation, and that those supporting them never give up.” I also hope that, both in the courts and in the media, the position will now be “innocent until proven guilty.”
“I wish to recognize the noble work of the judge, the jurors, the court staff, and the sheriffs who have sacrificed their own time to get to this point, as well as my diligent and unwavering legal team who did an extraordinary job in assisting me in sharing the truth,” he continued, before concluding, “The best is yet to come and a new chapter has finally begun.”
In 2018, Depp filed a defamation lawsuit against his ex-wife Heard, after the actress wrote an essay for the Washington Post in which she referred to herself as a “public figure representing domestic abuse.” She demanded $100 million in her countersuit.
Despite the fact that Depp’s name was never mentioned in the article, his lawyers claimed that Heard’s op-ed was part of an “elaborate hoax” to portray him as an abuser. From 2015 to 2017, Heard was married to Depp. His lawyers say that she ruined his reputation by “choosing to lie about him for her own personal gain.”
On May 4, 2022, the trial began. Both the Pirates of the Caribbean actor and the Aquaman star testified about their relationship several times. Heard stated early in the trial, “I am here because my ex-husband is suing me for an op-ed I wrote.” I’m at a loss for words to express how painful this is. It’s terrible for me to be stuck here for weeks, reliving everything with people I knew — some well, some not. “
On May 5, the representative for Edward Scissorhands expressed his reaction to Heard’s testimony. “Ms. Heard did indeed deliver ‘the performance of her life’ in her direct examination, as Mr. Depp’s counsel correctly predicted in their opening statements last month,” the statement read. “Throughout the six agonizing years since Ms. Heard’s first allegations, Mr. Depp’s recollections have remained exactly the same.”
As the trial progressed, Depp and Heard continued to make shocking allegations against each other. Heard claimed at one point that her ex-husband was physically abusive and that she had to cover Depp’s bruises with makeup. During her testimony, she said, “If you want to cover up a bruise, you obviously put foundation first, concealer, and then on top of that, I used like a bruise kit.” “It’s not a bruise kit; it’s a theater makeup kit, a color correction kit,” says the author.
During a cross-examination on May 16, the actor’s lawyers questioned Heard’s claims. They showed Heard a series of photos taken after she claimed the alleged attacks took place, asking if she could see any visible injuries. Heard replied, “Nothing that you can see.”
Source : In weekly | Wikipedia
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