Johnny Depp wins the defamation trial: “6 years later, they have given me my life back”
The judge, after several days of deliberation and after hearing the closing arguments of both parties, has found Amber Heard guilty of the charge of defamation for her opinion article in the Washington Post in 2018 alluding to alleged gender-based violence by her ex-partner Johnny Depp.
Nevertheless, the jury has also accused Depp of defaming Heard through his lawyer when he fought back to defend himself against the accusations.
Amber Heard was sentenced to pay $15 million as compensation and punitive damages to his ex-partner, although Judge Penney Azcarate reduced the figure to 10,350,000 according to the state legal cap. For its part, Depp will have to pay 2 million to Heard for compensatory damages.
The clerk of the jury, reading the verdict, ruled that Amber Heard had defamed Johnny Depp in the opinion piece published in 2018, further stating that he had acted in “bad faith”, knowing that the statements he aired were false and that they would do harm to the career of his ex-partner.
The jury also admitted that Depp’s lawyer, adam waldmanhad defamed Amber Heardm by claiming that she had prepared “deception, manipulationwhen he called police from the couple’s apartment in 2016.
This verdict, which could be considered a victory for Depp, contrasts with the trial that the actor lost in the UK in 2019, when he sued The Sun newspaper for calling him “handcuff beater“. On that occasion, the judge ruled that Heard’s allegations were “substantially true“.
The protagonist of ‘Pirates of the Caribbean’ has issued a statement together with his lawyers after hearing the sentence in which he states that “six years later, the jury gave me my life back“, and what is “truly overwhelmed by the outpouring of love and colossal support and kindness from everyone“.
“From the beginning, the goal of bringing this case was to reveal the truth, regardless of the outcome.Depp said. “Telling the truth was something I owed to my children and to all those who have stood firm in their support of me. I feel at peace knowing that I have finally made it”.
You can read the actor’s statement in full below:
“Six years ago, my life, the lives of my children, the lives of those closest to me and also the lives of the people who for many, many years have supported me and believed in me, changed forever.
All in the blink of an eye.
False, very serious and criminal allegations were made against me through the media, which triggered an endless barrage of hateful content, although no charges were ever brought against me. I had already circled the globe twice in a nanosecond and it had a seismic impact on my life and career.
And six years later, the jury gave me my life back. I am truly honored.
My decision to pursue this case, knowing full well the height of the legal hurdles I would face and the inevitable world spectacle in my life, was only made after much thought.
From the beginning, the goal of bringing this case was to reveal the truth, regardless of the outcome. Telling the truth was something I owed to my children and to all those who have stood firm in their support of me. I feel at peace knowing that I have finally made it.
I am, and have been, overwhelmed by the outpouring of love and the colossal support and kindness from everyone. I hope that my quest for the truth to be told has helped others, men or women, who have found themselves in my situation, and that those who support them never give up. I also hope that the position will now return to innocent until proven otherwise, both within the courts and in the media.
I want to acknowledge the noble work of the judge, jurors, court staff and bailiffs who have sacrificed their own time to get to this point, and my diligent and unwavering legal team who did an extraordinary job in helping me share the truth. .
The best is yet to come and a new chapter has finally begun.
The truth never perishes.”
Amber Heard also spoke after hearing the sentence, showing deeply disappointed.
“The disappointment I feel today is beyond words”, the actress wrote in a statement. “I am heartbroken that the mountains of evidence were not enough to stand up to the disproportionate power and influence of my ex-husband.”.
Heard continued: “I am even more disappointed with what this verdict means for other women.. It’s a setback. She turns the clock back to a time when a woman who spoke out could be publicly shamed and humiliated. Pushes back the idea that violence against women should be taken seriously”.
“I think Johnny’s lawyers managed to get the jury to miss the key issue of free speech and ignore the very compelling evidence that we won in the UK,” Heard concluded. “I’m sad because I lost this case. But I am even sadder because I seem to have lost a right that I thought I had as an American: to speak freely and openly.”.
Amber Heard is expected to appeal the sentence in the coming daysalluding to a series of failures that, according to his lawyers, occurred prior to the trial, such as the rejection of the proposal to move the case out of Virginia.
On the other side, it remains to be seen if Johnny Depp’s career is affected (for the better) after this ruling in his favor, after several years of interpretive fallow. His next film will be ‘Jeanne DuBarry‘, in which he will embody the King of France Louis XV.
Source: Fotogramas
Camila Luna is a writer at Gossipify, where she covers the latest movies and television series. With a passion for all things entertainment, Camila brings her unique perspective to her writing and offers readers an inside look at the industry. Camila is a graduate from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) with a degree in English and is also a avid movie watcher.
