The 58-year-old ‘Pirates of the Caribbean’ star sued Heard in Virginia for $50 million and claimed she defamed him when she presented herself as “a public figure representing domestic violence “.
Heard, 36, has sued for $100million, claiming Depp defamed him when his lawyer called his accusations a “hoax”.
Depp denied hitting Heard or any other woman and said she was the one who turned violent in their relationship.
“Mr. Depp suffered persistent verbal, physical and emotional abuse from Ms. Heard,” attorney Camille Vasquez said in closing argument.
She said the allegations of abuse of Ms Heard by Mr Depp, including a sexual assault with a liquor bottle, were “savage, exaggerated and implausible” and had ruined her reputation in Hollywood and among her fans.
“We ask you to give Mr. Depp his life back by telling the world that Mr. Depp is not the abuser that Ms. Heard claims he is,” Mr. Vasquez said.
Ms. Heard’s lawyer, Benjamin Rottenborn, in his closing argument, reminded the jurors of the explicit text messages sent by Mr. Depp from friends or associates.
In one, Depp called Heard a “dirty bitch” and said he wanted to kill her and would “fuck her burnt corpse”.
“It’s a window into the heart and mind of America’s favorite pirate,” Rottenborn said. “It’s the real Johnny Depp”.
At the center of the legal case is a December 2018 opinion piece by Heard in The Washington Post, in which she made the statement about domestic violence. The article never mentions Depp by name, but his attorney told jurors it was clear Heard was referring to him.
Heard’s lawyers argued that she was telling the truth and that her comments were covered by freedom of speech under the First Amendment to the US Constitution.
“The key question you need to answer is ‘Does the First Amendment give Ms. Heard the right to write the words she wrote?’ Rottenborn told the jury. “You can’t simultaneously defend the First Amendment and vote for Johnny Depp.”
The seven-person jury is expected to begin deliberations later on Friday. If the jurors do not reach a verdict by Friday evening, they will reconvene on Tuesday after the United States Memorial Day holiday, Judge Penney Azcarate said. Depp and Heard met in 2011 while filming “The Rum Diary” and married in February 2015. Their divorce was finalized about two years later.
During six weeks of proceedings, jurors listened to tapes of the former couple’s fights and saw graphic photos of Depp’s bloody finger.
Depp said Heard threw a bottle of vodka that cut the top of his finger during an argument in 2015. Heard denied hurting Depp’s finger and said Depp sexually assaulted her that night with a bottle of liquor.
Once among Hollywood’s biggest stars, Depp said Heard’s allegations cost him “everything”. A new “Pirates” movie has been put on hold, and Depp has been replaced in the “Fantastic Beasts” film franchise, a “Harry Potter” spin-off.
Less than two years ago, Depp lost a libel suit against the Sun, a British tabloid which called him a “wife beater”. A High Court judge in London ruled that he assaulted Heard on several occasions.
Depp’s attorneys filed the U.S. case in Fairfax County, Va., because The Washington Post is printed there. The newspaper is not a defendant.