FAIRFAX, Virginia (AP) – A jury on Wednesday sided with Johnny Depp in his defamation case against his ex-wife Amber Heard, sentencing the Pirates of the Caribbean actor more than $ 10 million and confirming his allegations that Hurd lied for Depp harassing her before and during their brief marriage.
But in a split decision, the jury also found that Hurd had been slandered by Depp’s lawyers, who accused her of creating a detailed scam involving shaking the couple’s apartment to make it look worse to police. The jury awarded her $ 2 million.
The verdicts put an end to a televised trial that Depp hoped to help restore his reputation, although it turned into a show that offered a window to a vicious marriage.
Hurd, who was standing in the courtroom as the verdict was read, said she had a broken heart.
“I am even more disappointed with what this sentence means to other women. This is a failure. It takes the clock back to a time when a woman who speaks and speaks can be publicly humiliated. This rejects the idea that violence against women should be taken seriously, “she said in a statement posted on her Twitter account.
Depp, who was not in court on Wednesday, said the jury had given me back my life. I’m really humble. “
“I hope that my efforts to tell the truth will have helped others, men or women, who have found themselves in my situation, and that those who support them never give up,” he said in a statement posted on Instagram. .
Depp is suing Hurd for defamation in Fairfax County Court for a December 2018 post she wrote in The Washington Post describing herself as a “public figure representing domestic violence.” His lawyers said he was slandered by the article, although he never mentioned his name.
The jury found in favor of Depp and his three requests related to specific statements in the 2018 article.
During the procedure, fans, who were mostly on Depp’s side, lined up overnight for the desired seats in the courtroom. Spectators who could not enter gathered in the street to applaud Depp and mock Hurd when they appeared outside.
A crowd of about 200 people applauded when Depp’s lawyers came out after the verdict. “Johnny for president!” one man shouted repeatedly.
Greg McCandless, 51, a retired private detective from Reston, Virginia, stood in front of the courthouse wearing a pirate hat and red scarf, a hint of Depp’s famous role as Captain Jack Sparrow in Pirates of the Caribbean.
“I believe there was slander and I believe it hurt his career,” McCandless said. “I think the jury heard the evidence and the verdict was fair.
In assessing Hurd’s counterclaims, jurors considered three statements from Depp’s lawyer, who called her allegations fraudulent. They found that she had been slandered by one of them, in which the lawyer claimed that she and her friends “spilled some wine and confused the place, clarified their stories” and called the police.
Sidney Porter, 30, drives an hour from her home in Maryland to show support for Hurd. She said the sentence was disappointing, but not surprising, and sent a message to women that “as much evidence as you have (of abuse) will never be enough.”
The jury ruled that Depp should receive $ 10 million in damages and $ 5 million in punitive damages, but the judge said state law limits criminal damages to $ 350,000, meaning Depp received $ 10.35 million.
While the case allegedly involved defamation, most of the testimonies focused on whether Hurd was physically and sexually abused, as she claims. Hurd listed more than a dozen alleged attacks, including a battle in Australia – where Depp filmed a sequel to “Pirates of the Caribbean” – in which Depp lost the tip of his middle finger, and Hurd said she was sexually assaulted with a bottle of alcohol.
Depp said he never hit Hurd and that she was the abuser, although Hurd’s lawyers have highlighted text messages from Depp apologizing to Hurd for his behavior for years, as well as obscene texts he sent to a friend Depp says he wants to kill Hurd and desecrate her dead body.
In a sense, the trial was a repeat of a lawsuit filed by Depp in the United Kingdom against a British tabloid after being described as a “husband’s fighter.” The judge in this case ruled in favor of the newspaper after finding that Hurd was telling the truth in his descriptions of violence.
In the case of Virginia Depp, he had to prove not only that he had never attacked Hurd, but that Hurd’s article – which focuses mainly on public policy on domestic violence – slandered him. He also had to prove that Hurd had written the article with real malice.
And in order to seek redress, he had to prove that her article had damaged his reputation, unlike any number of articles before and after Hurd’s article detailing the charges against him.
The case has won millions through its television coverage from hammer to hammer, including passionate social media followers who have analyzed everything from the actors’ manners to the possible symbolism of what they are wearing. Both performers are coming out of the process with a reputation for rags and unclear career prospects.
Eric Rose, a crisis and communications management expert in Los Angeles, called the process a “classic murder-suicide.”
“From a reputation management perspective, there can be no winners,” he said. “They bled to death. Now it’s getting harder for studios to hire any actor because you’re potentially alienating a large part of your audience, who may not like the fact that you’ve saved Johnny or Amber for a specific project because the feelings are so strong now.
Depp, a three-time Academy Award nominee for Best Actor, has been a star until recent years. His line as Sparrow helped turn Pirates of the Caribbean into a global franchise, but he lost that role. He was also replaced in the third spin-off of Fantastic Beasts, Dumbledore’s Secrets.
Despite indications during the trial that he could be violent, abusive and out of control, Depp received a standing ovation on Tuesday night in London after performing about 40 minutes with Jeff Beck at the Royal Albert Hall.
Hurd’s acting career is more modest and her only two upcoming roles are in a short film and the upcoming sequel to “Aquaman”, which is due out next year.
Depp’s lawyers have struggled to keep the case in Virginia, in part because U.S. law provides some legal advantages over California, where they live. A judge ruled that Virginia was an acceptable forum for the case, as The Washington Post’s print media and online servers were in the county.
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