The verdict is in — and it’s a big win for Johnny Depp. After three days of deliberations, the jury determined Amber Heard made defamatory statements about the Pirates of the Caribbean star when she wrote an op-ed about surviving sexual and domestic violence. Heard, who countersued for defamation, won just one of three counterclaims against the actor. Each accused the other of abuse and destroying their career.
Depp sued Heard for $50 million over a 2018 op-ed she wrote in the Washington Post describing herself as a survivor of abuse. Specifically, there were three parts of the article that the Pirates of the Caribbean star claimed to be defamatory and he won all of them:
Depp was awarded $15 million: $10 million in compensatory damages and $5 million punitive. However, punitive damages in Virginia are capped at $350K, so Depp is awarded $10.35M in total.
Heard countersued for $100 million claiming Depp’s attorney Adam Waldman, while acting on behalf of her ex-husband, made defamatory claims about her. Heard sued over three specific statements Waldman made to the press. She won on the second statement:
