Johnny Depp is satisfied with the jury’s verdict in the libel suit he brought against his ex-wife Amber Heard. The 58-year-old actor was right on all points by the jury in the American state of Virginia. “The jury has given me my life back. I feel very humbled,” Depp writes in a first response to Instagram†
“Six years ago my life, the lives of my children and the people around me changed forever. False, very serious and criminal accusations have been made about me in the media, while no official charges were ever brought against me. “
“In a flash, the messages already went around the world twice. That had an incredible impact on my life and my career,” writes Depp. Due to the accusations, he lost film roles in the Fantastic Beastsfranchise.
He says that despite the worldwide attention it would create, he made a deliberate decision to file the libel suit. “From the beginning, my goal was to get the truth out. I owed it to my children and the people who support me to tell the truth. Now that the truth is there, I am finally at peace.”
“I hope my fight to tell the truth will help other people who are in the same boat. I hope we also return to the principle that one is innocent until proven guilty.”
“A new chapter can now finally begin,” Depp concluded in his statement.
Depp sued Heard for $50 million
The libel case against his ex Amber Heard revolved around an article that appeared in the American newspaper in 2018. The Washington Post popped up. In it, the 36-year-old actress wrote that she was a “survivor” of domestic violence.
She did not mention Depp’s name, but according to the actor it was clear that it was about him. Depp decided to sue her for 50 million dollars (almost 47 million euros).
In the same case, Heard believed she had been the victim of defamation because Depp’s lawyers called her allegations false. She then decided to sue her ex for 100 million dollars.
Depp was right on all points by the jury, but Heard in her case only on a few points. The jury ordered her to pay her ex-husband $15 million. Depp, in turn, has to pay her $2 million.
Two types of compensation
The damages Heard must pay consists of $10 million in damages and “punitive” damages (punitive damage) of $5 million. The latter is intended to prevent something from happening again.
In the state of Virginia, the punitive damage up to $350,000. As a result, Heard eventually has to transfer $ 8,350,000 (7.8 million euros) to her ex.
Heard said in a first reaction that he was disappointed with the jury’s verdict. “My heart is broken. A mountain of evidence was not enough against the extraordinary influence my ex-husband has.”