The infamous weekslong defamation trial between Depp and heard that began April 11, reached the verdict today June 1.
Depp was initially awarded $15 million in damages from Heard, per the verdict. The jury unanimously found that Heard acted with actual malice in her 2018 Washington Op-ed. The opinion intended to hurt Depp’s reputation. $10 million were therefore awarded to Depp in compensatory damages and $5 million in punitive damages.
According to NBC News, “Fairfax County Circuit Court Judge Penney Azcarate reduced the punitive damages the jury awarded to Depp to $350,000, which is the state’s statutory cap or legal limit, making his total damages 10.4 million.”
Depp released a statement via his spokesperson following the verdict in his favor, while Heard took to social media to express her disappointment.
In the statement, Depp wrote, “Six years ago, my life, the life of my children, the life of my children, the lives of the people who for many, many years have supported and believed in me forever changed.”
“All in the blink of an eye,” he pursued, “false, very serious and criminal allegations were levied at me via the media, which triggered an endless barrage of hateful content, although no charges were ever brought against me.”
“I wish to acknowledge the noble work of the judge, the jurors, the court staff and the Sheriffs who have sacrificed their own time to get to this point, and to my diligent and unwavering legal team who did an extraordinary job in helping me to share the truth,” he said. “Truth never perishes,” he concluded.
While Depp and his supporters cheered the verdict in his favor, Heard said she was “heartbroken.”
“The disappointment I Feel Today in Beyond Words,” she said.
In her defamation countersuit against her ex-husband, the jurors awarded the actress $2 million in compensatory damages and $0 in punitive damages.