'The jury gave me my life back': Johnny Depp after winning defamation trial

Lifestyle

Published: 2022-06-02 15:22

Last Updated: 2024-03-28 19:39


'The jury gave me my life back': Johnny Depp after winning defamation trial
'The jury gave me my life back': Johnny Depp after winning defamation trial

In his first comment after a US grand jury issued its decision, actor Johnny Depp welcomed the US jury's verdict after six weeks of hearings in a defamation case over accusations made by his ex-wife, Amber Heard, of domestic violence.

"The jury gave me my life back. I'm really touched," Depp said in a statement issued on Instagram after the jury ruled in his favor.

 
 
 
View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Johnny Depp (@johnnydepp)


Also Read: Johnny Depp wins defamation case against Amber Heard


Earlier on Wednesday, Johnny Depp won his defamation case against his ex-wife Amber Heard after a six-week trial featuring blistering mutual accusations of domestic abuse, according to BBC.

The jury found that both parties defamed one another so they awarded Depp $10 million in compensatory damages and $5 million dollars in punitive damages.

Heard, on the other hand, was awarded $2 million in compensatory damages and nothing in punitive damages, according to BBC, as the jury found that Depp defamed her through his attorney, Adam Waldman, and that it was only in one of three counts.

Depp had sought $50 million in damages and Heard sought $100 million. Punitive damages in the state of Virginia are capped at $350,000, so the judge reduced the punitive damages award to that amount, according to CNN.

Depp was not present in court while the verdict was read but Heard was present and stated she was "heartbroken" over the verdict.

"The disappointment I feel today is beyond words. I'm heartbroken that the mountain of evidence still was not enough to stand up to the disproportionate power, influence, and sway of my ex-husband," Heard said.

"I'm even more disappointed with what this verdict means for other women," she added. "It is a setback. It sets back the clock to a time when a woman who spoke up and spoke out could be publicly shamed and humiliated. It sets back the idea that violence against women is to be taken seriously."

"I believe Johnny's attorneys succeeded in getting the jury to overlook the key issue of freedom of speech and ignore evidence that was so conclusive that we won in the UK," she said. "I'm sad I lost this case. But I am sadder still that I seem to have lost a right I thought I had as an American -- to speak freely and openly."