After the six-week-long battle between the Fantastic Beasts and Pirates of the Caribbean star Johnny Depp, and the Aquaman star and ACLU ambassador Amber Heard, the verdict has finally come. On June 1, 2022, the court declared that Depp has officially won the case against Heard.
The jury decided to award Depp with a total of around $15 million in compensatory and punitive charges, and Heard with $2 million in compensatory charges only.
Depp has expressed his extreme gratitude to the court, stating that he has finally got his life back and truth always prevails. However, Heard has not held back from expressing her deep disappointment at the verdict, even implying that her loss means a massive setback for all women.
What were the charges on Depp and Heard?
In 2018, Heard called herself a ‘public figure for domestic violence in an article in The Washinton Post. The article didn’t have Depp’s name but it implied the claims to be on Depp. Soon, Depp sued Heard for defamation charges, claiming that these ‘rumors’ were false. In retaliation, Heard countersued him.
The trial began on April 2022, and throughout the trial, new things have come to light. Heard claims that Depp was verbally and physically abusive while Depp claims that he was a victim of domestic violence.
What was the verdict?
The jurors declared that Depp was cleared of two of the three defamation charges made by Heard. However, they also found that Heard was defamed earlier through Depp’s attorney, Adam Waldman, who conveyed that Heard calling the police in their apartment in 2016 was a ‘hoax’.
As compensation, Depp was $10 million and Heard was awarded $2 million. Depp was also given $5 million as punitive charges.
What was the reaction of Amber Heard?
Soon after the verdict, Amber Heard tweeted a long text, saying how much disappointed she was with the verdict. She states that she was very sad as her ‘mountain of evidence was not enough against the extreme power and influence of Johnny Depp. The disappointment she feels is ‘beyond words.
The actress goes on in her tweet, saying that the verdict pushes not only women but all the people to a time when women would be publicly punished and humiliated for speaking up. The verdict is a setback for women, and it pushed the clock far beyond the time when violence toward women should be taken seriously. She is disappointed at the fact the verdict could impact not only her but all women.
Amber Heard also says that Depp’s lawyers have somehow managed to make the jury overlook all the evidence. The jury has apparently, overlooked the ‘conclusive’ points which made them win in the UK. She says that the jury has overlooked her Freedom of Speech and ignored the evidence against Depp.
According to her, she didn’t just lose the case but has also lost her freedom to talk freely.
What could be Amber Heard’s future?
Right now, she has to pay $15 million to her husband as per the verdict. She will be starring in the next part of Aquaman in 2023, but it is unknown if she will still hold her place in her current projects or work on new projects.
