Were Johnny Depp And Amber Heard Both Found Guilty In Defamation Trial?

American actor Johnny Depp won his defamation case against ex-spouse and former co-star, Amber Heard. Depp, 58, was awarded 15 million dollars in damages and Heard, 36, was awarded 2 million dollars. He was found to be defamed by ex-spouse Amber Heard when she described herself in a 2018 Washington Post op-ed as a “public figure representing domestic abuse.”

The jury also found that Amber Heard had also defamed one of Johnny Depp’s lawyers. However, the jury found that both Johnny Depp and Amber Heard were defamed. Depp was awarded more money in damages and was handed a victory. 

Nevertheless, it is to be noted that the Virginia jury’s decision was split when it found out that one of the three statements at the heart of Heard’s lawsuit by one of Depp’s lawyers had been defamatory in nature. 

Amber Heard Johnny Depp trial verdict

The six-weeks long trial which influenced social media was watched by people following it closely on television or streaming it online. The two major Hollywood stars kept on charging each other amounting to one of the “highest-profile” civil cases of the post #Metoo era. 

While Depp denied Heard’s accusations against him, that he subjected her to physical abuse which included him punching her and dragging her by the hair along with instances of sexual assault, he testified, “It’s insane to hear heinous accusations of violence, sexual violence that she’s attributed to me.” Not enduring to have split himself, to tell the truth, Depp further added, “There are times when one just simply has to because it’s gotten out of control.”

Heard was accused by Depp’s lawsuit of defaming him in a Washington Post op-ed where she witnessed “how institutions protect men accused of abuse.” Although the article did not mention Depp by name, spearheaded and made by the American Civil Liberties Union, it referred to their marriage held in 2015, falling apart over a year. 

Throughout the trial, Heard maintained that she was being truthful about all the details she wrote in the op-ed article, saying that she was the one who was defamed. In 2020, Depp made statements to a British tabloid saying that her abuse accusations were a “hoax.” Depp was sued by Heard who argued that the lawyer was acting as his agent for making those statements. 

The Sun, in 2020, had called Depp a “wife-beater” in a headline. Although it is a victory for Depp who denies hitting Heard or any other woman in his life, the verdict is at odds with British courts in which a judge named Andrew Nicol had found that there was evidence that he had assaulted Heard. The judge had also said that Depp made Heard fear for her life. One is forced to question how the two courts of law gave out two absolutely opposite rulings. The trial has also made one thing clear to many individuals who followed the case that both Depp and Heard were toxic in their behaviour towards each other during the course of their marriage. 

The verdict that seems to be in favour of Johnny Depp has become a reason for social media users to use hashtags like #mentoo. While it is true that sexual abuse against men is not discussed with much seriousness, one should also ask if the Virginia court called Depp a survivor of abuse. The actor won the case against his ex-wife on defamation charges and not sexual abuse charges. Amber Heard was not charged with abuse. Both Depp and Heard were found guilty of defaming each other in a public trial and after filing for divorce.

Suggested Reading: Grotesque Defamation Trial: Johnny Depp Accuses Amber Heard Of Defecating In His Bed