A Virginia jury ruled in favor of actor Johnny Depp in a libel suit against his ex-wife, Amber Heard, finding that she defamed him with accusations of domestic abuse.
Depp was awarded $15 million in damages, though that may be reduced by law. Heard’s counter-suit was largely dismissed, with the jury finding Depp defamed her in only one instance, awarding $2 million in damages.
Depp sued Heard for $50 million, accusing her of libel in a 2018 Washington Post op-ed insinuating that he was a domestic abuser. Heard counter-sued for $100 million, saying Depp’s lawyer defamed her by calling the accusation a hoax. The trial opened on April 11 and went to the jury last Friday. It took three working days for the seven-person civil jury in Fairfax, Virginia to return the unanimous verdict.
Two out of three of Heard’s counts were dismissed, with the ‘Aquaman’ star getting awarded $2 million in damages for one instance the jury considered defamation – a statement made by Adam Waldman, the attorney who represented Depp in the divorce proceedings. Depp was awarded $10 million in compensatory and $5 million in punitive damages, though the latter may be capped by law to around $350,000.