The jury agrees with the actor, but obliges him to pay 2 million in compensation for the accusations made by one of his lawyers against his ex-wife. Announcing an appeal
Johnny Depp wins lawsuit against ex-wife, actress Amber Heard. The jury ruled that Heard defamed him, ordering her to pay $15 million in damages. However, Depp himself will in turn be required to compensate her with 2 million for the statement of a lawyer, guilty of having defined Heard's accusations as "a fraud".
The verdict in New York comes after a six-week trial, punctuated by heavy tones on both fronts. Heard spoke of "a step backwards for all women" and is preparing to appeal. Depp said the jury "gave his life back", confirming his non-involvement in Heard's allegations.
The story and the case of Depp's lawyer
Depp filed her lawsuit in response to an article Heard published in The Washington Post, in which the actress described herself as a "public figure who represents domestic abuse." An indictment against the violence allegedly committed by Depp, even if the actor has always declared himself extraneous to it and ended up taking legal action.
The jury agreed with the plaintiff on all the complaints presented, based on defamatory content that would have been contained in the service published by the US newspaper. The Depps' hope was to rehabilitate his image, but the trial turned into a TV show with a huge media following and several glimpses into the private lives of the two.
Depp's own "victory", moreover, is balanced by the 2 million dollar compensation sentence, due to the defamation of one of his lawyers against Heard: the lawyer argued that the woman had hatched a sort of staging to be more credible , starting with the decision to ransack the couple's apartment as proof of the tensions between the two.
