Johnny Depp triumphed Wednesday in his defamation case against his ex-wife Amber Heard, with a jury awarding him $10 million in compensatory damages and $5 million in punitive damages related to her claims that the "Pirates of the Caribbean" star was physically abusive to her during their marriage.
As per the punitive damages, the judge said state law caps it at $350,000, meaning Depp was ultimately awarded $10.35 million, according to a Washington Post article.
Heard's countersuit against Depp resulted in the actress receiving $2 million in compensatory damages and no funds for punitive damages.
Depp was not present for the reading of the verdict. He made a surprise appearance in London earlier this week to join Jeff Beck in a concert performance and was not able to return to the U.S. in time for the verdict.
Related Link: Is Disney Bringing Back Johnny Depp To 'Pirates Of The Caribbean' Franchise? What You Need To Know
Background To The Trial: Depp and Heard were married from 2015 to 2017. Heard said she was the victim of domestic violence during their marriage, and in 2018 she authored a 2018 op-ed column in the Washington Post claiming that she was the survivor of an abusive relationship. Depp was not mentioned by name in the column, but it was widely seen to be a slam against him.
Depp responded to the column by filing a $50-million defamation claim against his ex-wife. Heard countersued Depp for defamation following remarks made by his attorney, Adam Waldman, in a 2020 interview that framed Heard’s abuse allegations as being false.
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The case began on April 11 and was heard in Fairfax County, Virginia, because the servers for The Washington Post's online edition are based in the county. Both sides brought in prominent witnesses to bolster their case, with Heard recruiting actress Ellen Barkin and Walt Disney Co. (NYSE:DIS) production executive Tina Newman, while Depp produced DC Films President Walter Hamada and supermodel ex-girlfriend Kate Moss.
Rumors that Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) CEO Elon Musk, Heard's former boyfriend, would testify came to naught.
Photo: Created with images from Clyde Robinson, UN Geneva and Renegade98 on Flickr.
