প্রকাশ: 02/06/2022
A US jury
awarded Johnny Depp $15 million in a libel lawsuit he brought against
ex-wife Amber Heard for claiming she was abused in a Washington Post
op-ed. But the same jury also awarded Heard $2 million in her
countersuit, finding that she was defamed when Depp's lawyer claimed her
allegations of abuse were a hoax.
A jury on Wednesday ruled in favor of Johnny Depp in
his libel lawsuit against ex-wife Amber Heard, vindicating his stance that
Heard fabricated claims that she was abused by Depp before and during their
brief marriage.
The jury also found in favor of Heard, who said she was
defamed by Depp’s lawyer when he called her abuse allegations a hoax.
Jury members found Depp should be awarded $10.35 million in
damages, while Heard should receive $2 million.
The verdicts bring an end to a televised trial that Depp had
hoped would help restore his reputation, though it turned into a spectacle of a
vicious marriage. Fans - overwhelmingly on Depp’s side - lined up overnight to
grab a seat in the courtroom. Spectators who couldn’t get in lined up on the
street to cheer Depp and jeer Heard whenever either appeared outside.
Depp sued Heard for libel in Fairfax County Circuit Court
over a December 2018 op-ed she wrote in The Washington Post describing herself
as “a public figure representing domestic abuse.” His lawyers said he was
defamed by the article even though it never mentioned his name.
While the case was ostensibly about libel, most of the
testimony focused on whether Heard had been physically and sexually abused, as
she claimed. Heard enumerated more than a dozen alleged assaults, including a
fight in Australia - where Depp was shooting a “Pirates of the Caribbean”
sequel - in which Depp lost the tip of his middle finger and Heard said she was
sexually assaulted with a liquor bottle.
Depp said he never hit Heard and was never out of control
when drinking, though Heard’s attorneys highlighted text messages Depp sent to
friends recounting the copious amount of alcohol and drugs he had taken at that
time. Her attorneys also showed that Depp sent texts apologizing to Heard for
his behavior and wrote profane messages to a friend in which Depp said he
wanted to kill Heard and defile her dead body.
In some ways, the trial was a replay of a lawsuit Depp filed
in the United Kingdom against a British tabloid after he was described as a
“wife beater.” The judge in that case ruled in the newspaper’s favor after
finding that Heard was telling the truth in her descriptions of abuse.
In the Virginia case, Depp had to prove not only that he
never assaulted Heard, but that Heard’s article - which focused primarily on
public policy related to domestic violence - defamed him. He also had to prove
that Heard wrote the article with actual malice. And to claim damages he had to
prove that her article caused the damage to his reputation as opposed to any
number of articles before and after Heard’s piece that detailed the allegations
against him.
Depp, in his final testimony to the jury, said the trial
gave him a chance to clear his name in a way that he the U.K trial never
allowed.
“No matter what happens, I did get here and I did tell the
truth and I have spoken up for what I’ve been carrying on my back, reluctantly,
for six years.” Depp said.
Heard, on the other hand, said the trial has been an ordeal
inflicted by an orchestrated smear campaign led by Depp.
“Johnny promised me - promised me - that he’d ruin my life,
that he’d ruin my career. He’d take my life from me,” Heard said in her final
testimony.
The case captivated millions through its gavel-to-gave
television coverage and impassioned followers on social media who dissected
everything from the actors’ mannerisms to the possible symbolism of what they
were wearing. Both performers emerge from the trial with reputations in tatters
with unclear prospects for their careers.
Eric Rose, a crisis management and communications expert in
Los Angeles, called the trial a “classic murder-suicide.”
“From a reputation management perspective, there can be no
winners,” he said. “They’ve bloodied each other up. It becomes more difficult
now for studios to hire either actor because you’re potentially alienating a
large segment of your audience who may not like the fact that you have retained
either Johnny or Amber for a specific project because feelings are so strong
now.”
Depp, a three-time best actor Oscar nominee, had until
recent years been a bankable star. His turn as Capt. Jack Sparrow in the
“Pirates of the Caribbean” film helped turn it into a global franchise, but
he’s lost that role. (Heard and Depp’s teams each blame the other.) He was also
replaced as the title character in the third “Fantastic Beasts” spin-off film,
“The Crimes of Grindelwald.”
Despite testimony at the trial that he could be violent,
abusive and out of control, Depp received a standing ovation Tuesday night in
London after performing for about 40 minutes with Jeff Beck at the Royal Albert
Hall. He has previously toured with Joe Perry and Alice Cooper as the group
Hollywood Vampires.
Heard’s acting career has been more modest, and her only two
upcoming roles are in a small film and the upcoming “Aquaman” sequel due out
next year.
Depp’s lawyers fought to keep the case in Virginia, in part
because state law provided some legal advantages compared with California,
where the two reside. A judge ruled that Virginia was an acceptable forum for
the case because The Washington Post’s printing presses and online servers are
in the county.
- AP
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