A Virginia jury on Wednesday ruled that actor Amber Heard defamed ex-husband Johnny Depp in an opinion piece she wrote for the Washington Post. The verdict was delivered Thursday in the widely watched six-week trial that featured explicit and graphic evidence and testimony detailing the former Hollywood coupleโs soured relationship.
The jury also ruled in favor of Heard in some aspects of her counter-suit against Depp.
The jury awarded Depp $15 million in damages from Heard. The panel awarded Heard $2 million in damages.
The โPirates of the Caribbeanโ star had sued Heard for $50 million and argued that she defamed him when she called herself โa public figure representing domestic abuseโ in a newspaper opinion piece.
Heard, countersued for $100 million, saying Depp smeared her when his lawyer called her accusations a โhoax.โ
Depp has denied hitting Heard or any woman and rather claimed that she was the one who turned violent in their relationship.
During the six weeks of testimony, Heardโs attorneys argued that she had told the truth and that her comments were covered as free speech under the U.S. Constitutionโs First Amendment.
Throughout the proceedings, jurors listened to recordings of the coupleโs fights and saw graphic photos of Deppโs bloody finger. He said the top of the finger was severed when Heard threw a vodka bottle at him in 2015.
The lawyers for Heard counterattacked saying Depp sexually assaulted her that night with a liquor bottle. She said she struck him only to defend herself and her sister.
Depp said the allegation led to a new โPiratesโ movie being put on hold and Depp was replaced in the โFantastic Beastsโ film franchise, a โHarry Potterโ spinoff.
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