The defeated Amber Heard speaks of a “regression” for other women, Johnny Depp is humble: the reactions to the verdict.
Johnny Depp said he felt inner peace after the verdict on Wednesday evening.
(dpa/agencies) After the jury in the defamation trial between Hollywood star Johnny Depp (58) and his ex-wife largely voted for Depp, Amber Heard was deeply disappointed. “The disappointment I feel today cannot be put into words,” she wrote on Twitter.
The fact that the jury largely did not believe her despite a “mountain of evidence” breaks her heart. Heard said she sees the verdict as a “step backwards” for other women in a similar situation. The actress listened with her eyes downcast as the verdict was read.
Heard will likely appeal
The jury awarded Depp damages of ten plus five million dollars, the latter amount reduced by the judge to $350,000 due to corresponding regulations in the state of Virginia. The jury awarded Heard $2 million in damages. The bottom line is that Heard has to pay Depp 8.35 million dollars (almost 8 million euros) according to the verdict. An appeal in the case is considered likely.
— Amber Heard (@realamberheard) June 1, 2022
The verdict of the jury, five men and two women, came after three days of deliberations. At the core of the civil lawsuit filed by Depp was a comment published by the Washington Post in 2018 in which Heard described himself as a victim of domestic violence.
In the bitter exchange of blows between the ex-spouses, Depp enjoyed a fan advantage: the star was received by cheering supporters every day in front of the courthouse. There were loud cheers for Depp on Wednesday too. Under hashtags like #JusticeforJohnny, fans online had “Justice for Johnny!” demanded and loudly sided with the actor.
Depp says he now feels an inner peace
Depp said in a statement after the verdict: “The jury gave me my life back.” From the beginning, the goal of the process was “to bring the truth to light – no matter how it would end”. Now that he’s done that, he feels an inner peace.
Depp emerges as a big winner from the defamation suit, but neither of them is ever likely to shake off the suit entirely. A severed fingertip, messages written in blood, faeces on the bedspread—these are some of the many details of a marriage now immortalized in court records.