Johnny Depp won a defamation action against his ex-wife Amber Heard on Wednesday, when a jury found that she defamed Depp by claiming that he assaulted her during their relationship.
Depp, who was absent from court on Wednesday owing to a previously planned business commitment, sued for $50 million in damages in response to a 2018 Washington Post opinion-editorial column in which Heard claimed she had become a "public figure embodying domestic abuse." Despite the fact that the essay did not reference Depp by name, his lawyers claim it alluded to claims she made against him during their 2016 divorce.
The jury unanimously determined that Heard was unable to establish her charges against Depp and that she was aware that her allegations of abuse were false.
When drafting her op-ed, the jury decided that Heard behaved with genuine malice. In his defamation claim, a jury awarded Depp $10 million in compensatory damages and $5 million in punitive damages.
Both Johnny Depp and Amber Heard have reacted to Depp's victory, taking to their respective Instagram pages to express their feelings about the jury's decision. Johnny Depp was elated by his victory, while Amber Heard expressed her disappointment in not being able to "speak freely and openly as an American."
0 Comments