Johnny Depp Wins Multimillion Lawsuit Against Ex-Wife Amber Heard

Virginia, June 2 - The "Pirates of the Caribbean" actor Johnny Depp has won a multimillion defamation lawsuit against ex-wife Amber Heard, by a Virginia jury.

The Virginia jury found that Heard's 2018 article against Depp, published in The Washington Post, was defamatory and ordered her to pay a whopping $15 million to Depp. The actor was awarded $10 million in compensatory damages and $5 million in punitive damages, which was cut by Judge Penney Azcarate to Virginia's statutory cap of $350,000, according to The Hollywood Reporter.



Amber Heard had written an op-ed in The Washington Post in 2018 in which she called herself a domestic abuse survivor against Depp. The latter had sued Heard for $50 million after the article was published, in which she referred to herself as "a public figure representing domestic abuse". Heard too had issued a counter-claim for $100 million over statements calling her allegations a "hoax" made by her ex-husband's attorney which was published in Mail Online stories in 2020.

While Heard lost on two of her three claims, she won on one claim that a statement from Depp's lawyer was defamatory, in which he said that Heard set up an "ambush, a hoax", referencing a visit from law enforcement to the couple's house allegedly initiated by Heard. She was awarded $2 million in compensatory damages but none in punitive damages, reports THR.

After the verdict was out, Amber Heard took to social to issue her statement. "The disappointment I feel today is beyond words", she said. "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".



On the other hand, Depp celebrated the verdict and said the decision "gave me my life back", in a statement shared on Instagram.

"From the very beginning, the goal of bringing this case was to reveal the truth, regardless of the outcome. Speaking the truth was something that I owed to my children and to all those who have remained steadfast in their support of me. I feel at peace knowing I have finally accomplished that".

Stay tuned...