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A jury has found Amber Heard defamed ex-husband Johnny Depp and ordered her to pay the actor damages amounting to $15 million. The jury awarded the actor $10 million in compensatory damages and $5 million in punitive damages.
The jury also found that Depp defamed Heard regarding a statement made by his former lawyer Alex Waldman, and she was subsequently awarded $2 million in damages. However, it did not find two other statements presented by the actress’s suit to be defamatory.
Overall, Depp’s suit was largely successful, and Heard’s arguments did not seem to sway the jury.
Heard posted a statement to Twitter immediately following the verdict.
“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,” she wrote.
https://twitter.com/realamberheard/status/1532083776741842945
A statement attributed to Depp’s spokesperson was also posted to Twitter following the verdict.
“Six years ago, my life, the life of my children, the lives of those closest to me, and also, the lives of the people who for many, many years have supported and believed in me were forever changed,” it reads. “And six years later, the jury gave me my life back. I am truly humbled.”
https://twitter.com/cathyrusson/status/1532087871754014720The celebrity exes have been embroiled in a fiery trial for over a month, with their legal teams presenting closing arguments on Friday.
Depp initially filed a suit against his ex-wife for $50 million in damages over a claim of defamation. Heard countersued for $100 million.
Jurors have been in deliberations since Friday afternoon. The actress was the final witness to testify before closing arguments.
Depp filed the lawsuit over an op-ed in the Washington Post in which Heard claimed to be a victim of physical and sexual abuse. The actor previously lost a 2020 lawsuit against the U.K. publication the Sun after it called him a “wife-beater.”
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JURY EXPERT WEIGHS IN ON HEARD’S STRATEGY LEADING UP TO JUROR’S DELIBERATION
On Tuesday, the jury’s second day deliberating, jurors returned from lunch with just a single question regarding the documents they were considering.
The actor’s awarded damages come after the couple’s infamous divorce settlement in 2016, from which Heard walked away with $7 million. She claimed to have entirely donated the sum evenly between the American Civil Liberties Union and the Los Angeles Children’s Hospital.
However, it was revealed during the trial that she has yet to donate all $7 million, but she says she still promises to do so and uses the words “pledge” and “donate” synonymously.
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER
This trial has been closely followed, and articles covering it garnered considerable interest on social media between April 4 to May 16, according to data gathered by NewsWhip. Per-article interactions have outnumbered those of articles on both Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk and President Joe Biden.
Coverage for the trial has received more social interactions than abortion, the war in Ukraine, inflation, and COVID-19 combined.
