Full Text of the Trial's Verdict, Statements from Depp and Heard

Full Text of the Final Verdict in the Depp vs Heard Trial

Johnny Depp Won the Trial and Amber Heard Lost

Johnny Depp won his defamation case against his ex-wife Amber Heard on Wednesday and the jury awarded him $15 million in damages.

The jurry found that he was in the right on all three counts brought by Depp's legal team, awarding him $15 million in compensation. Depp was awarded $10 million in compensatory damages and $5 million in punitive damages in his defamation suit.

The jury also awarded Heard $2 million in compensatory damages.

The turbulent defamation trial, which started April 11 and took place over the last six weeks, saw Depp and Heard trade disturbing allegations of domestic violence and abuse against a background of social media source that tilted heavily in the “Pirates of the Caribbean” star’s direction.

Amber Heard Releases Statement in Response to Verdict

After the court found in favour of Johnny Depp on all thre counts brought by his team, Amber Heard has released a statement, citing the "disproportionate power, influence and sway of my ex-husband."

"I'm heartbroken that the mountain of evidence still was not enough to stand up to the disproportionate power, influence, and sway of my ex-husband," Heard said in a statement. "I'm even more disappointed with what this verdict means for other women ... I'm sad I lost this case. But I am sadder still that I seem to have lost a right I thought I had as an American -- to speak freely and openly."

Heard released a statement Wednesday afternoon reacting to the jury siding with Depp:

“The disappointment I feel today is beyond words. I’m heartbroken that the mountain of evidence still was not enough to stand up to the disproportionate power, influence, and sway of my ex-husband.

I’m even more disappointed with what this verdict means for other women. It is a setback. It sets back the clock to a time when a woman who spoke up and spoke out could be publicly shamed and humiliated. It sets back the idea that violence against women is to be taken seriously.

I believe Johnny’s attorneys succeeded in getting the jury to overlook the key issue of Freedom of Speech and ignore evidence that was so conclusive that we won in the UK.

I’m sad I lost this case. But I am sadder still that I seem to have lost a right I thought I had as an American — to speak freely and openly.”

Heard's Statement About the Verdict

Depp's Statement After Court Win

"The jury gave me my life back. I am truly humbled," Depp said in a statement posted to Instagram.

“No matter what happens, I did get here and I did tell the truth and I have spoken up for what I’ve been carrying on my back, reluctantly, for six years,” Depp said last week on the witness stand after calling Heard’s allegations “Ridiculous, humiliating, ludicrous, painful, savage, unimaginably brutal, cruel, and all false. All false.”

Camille Vasquez and Benjamin Chew, the two most prominent members of Johnny Depp's legal team, addressed the largely pro-Depp crowd gathered outside the courthouse in Fairfax, Virginia. They thanked the jury and court officials for their work during the seven weeks of argument and said they were pleased that the case had "resonated for so many people."

In a statement, Depp celebrated his victory in his defamation lawsuit against Heard:

"Six years ago, my life, the life of my children, the lives of those closest to me, and also, the lives of the people who for many, many years have supported and believed in me were forever changed.

All in the blink of an eye.

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. It had already traveled around the world twice within a nanosecond and it had a seismic impact on my life and my career.

And six years later, the jury gave me my life back. I am truly humbled.

My decision to pursue this case, knowing very well the height of the legal hurdles that I would be facing and the inevitable, worldwide spectacle into my life, was only made after considerable thought.

From the very beginning, the goal of bringing this case was to reveal the truth, regardless of the outcome. Speaking the truth was something that I owed to my children and to all those who have remained steadfast in their support of me. I feel at peace knowing I have finally accomplished that.

I am, and have been, overwhelmed by the outpouring of love and the colossal support and kindness from around the world. I hope that my quest to have the truth be told will have helped others, men or women, who have found themselves in my situation, and that those supporting them never give up. I also hope that the position will now return to innocent until proven guilty, both within the courts and in the media.

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.

The best is yet to come and a new chapter has finally begun.

Veritas numquam perit.

Truth never perishes."

A statement from Johnny Depp, via his spokesperson:

The statement from Johnny Depp

*****

Verdict in Johnny Depp, Amber Heard's libel trial stalled, jury to return Wednesday. Johnny Depp must prove three statements and seven elements to win the trial vs Amber Heard.

A jury finished a second day of deliberations Tuesday without reaching a verdict in the defamation claims of Johnny Depp and ex-wife Amber Heard over their volatile and unhappy marriage.

The Johnny Depp vs Amber Heard case is so complicated, that the verdict sheet has 42 questions the jury must answer before the deliver a verdict. The document was released by the court in Fairfax, Virginia and shows that there are 24 questions for Depp's claims and 18 for Heard's counterclaim.

A verdict form is used to formalize the jury's decision on the case. Spanning eight pages, it means the jury has to decide on dozens of matters before reaching their verdict.

There is also a section where they will have to decide on the damages for Depp and Heard - and any punitive damages.

Depp vs Heard Jury Deliberations: All Week or 8 Hours?

The jury has been deliberating 8 hours in total in the Johnny Depp vs AmberHeard defamation trial.

The jury want to know whether the question of whether the headline is false relates to just the headline itself or the entire article — i.e does including the headline as a statement bring in everything in the article.

Jury asks Judge Azcarate question about WaPo op-ed headline

The jurors have asked Judge Penny Azcarate a question about Amber Heard's Washington Post op-ed.

Their question relates to Finding Instruction C, which covers the headline of the article and whether this statement was false. A reminder that the headline was: "I spoke up against sexual violence - and faced our culture’s wrath. That has to change".

Essentially, the jurors wanted to know whether the entire op-ed must be considered false if the headline is deemed to be false.

Judge Azcarate told them that this is not the case. The instruction focuses only on the headline.

Law & Crime Network’s Angenette Levy believes the Depp v Heard jury “could be here all week” as its deliberations continue at Fairfax County Court in Virginia.

“I think you have to keep in mind this is a six-week trial […],” Levy said on Tuesday. “So there’s a lot for them to consider and there’s a lot in the jury instructions for them to consider.”

She continued: “For the most part, jurors take their duty very seriously. They like to go through everything and they want to be fair.

“Maybe we could be here all week - we just don’t know.”

Full Text of The Eight-page Verdict Sheet - Depp vs Heard Trial

The jury will make its verdict known thanks to a verdict sheet to be filled out.

The eight-page verdict sheet has been shared by the Fairfax County Courthouse as the jury deliberates.

It asks the jury to rule on all three statements behind Johnny Depp’s allegations against Amber Heard.

Should they find in Mr Depp’s favor on all three statements, jurors are then asked to state the amounts of compensatory and pumitive damages, if any, that they want to award him.

The verdict form can be viewed here.

Instructions given to the jury highlight three statements that make up the core of Johnny Depp’s defamation claims.

For each statement, the instructions identify seven elements Johnny Depp and his legal team must prove in order to prevail.

“If Mr Depp failed to prove any or more of the seven elements [...] then you shall find your verdict for Ms Heard,” the instructions read.

Jurors are asked to examine three statements: “Amber Heard: I spoke up against sexual violence — and faced our culture’s wrath. That has to change,” “Then two years ago, I became a public figure representing domestic abuse, and I felt the full force of our culture’s wrath for women who speak out,” and “I had the rare vantage point of seeing, in real time, how institutions protect men accused of abuse.”

For each statement, jurors are asked to consider whether Ms Heard made it, whether it’s about Mr Depp, whether it’s false, whether it has a defamatory implication against Mr Depp, whether that implication was designed and intended by Ms Heard, whether it conveyed that implication to someone other than Mr Depp, and whether Mr Depp proved “by clear and convincing evidence” that Ms Heard “made the statement with actual malice”.

All seven elements have to be present for the jury to rule in Mr Depp’s favor for each statement.

Here is an example of what the instructions look like, for the first statement:

Johnny Depp must prove seven elements to win

Similarly, here’s an overview of the questions jurors must consider when weighing Amber Heard’s counter-suit against Johnny Depp:

How jurors must rule on Amber Heard’s counter-suit

Depp is suing Heard for $50 million, accusing her of libeling him with a 2018 op-ed she wrote describing herself as "a public figure representing domestic abuse." Heard filed a $100 million counterclaim against the "Pirates of the Caribbean" star after his lawyer called her allegations a hoax. Each accuses the other of destroying their career.

Pirates of the Caribbean boat driven past Depp v Heard courthouse as jury deliberates. The "boat" also sported a giant 'Pirates of the Caribbean' banner, a cannon and an anchor and the mannequin was of Jack Sparrow. Clearly, Johnny Depp is the one who's gottent he most positive press after several instances in which Amber Heard was caught lying. Pirates of the Caribbean boat driven past Depp v Heard courthouse

Johnny Depp gets standing ovation after surprise performances in the UK two nights in a row

Johnny Depp received a standing ovation after performing at the Royal Albert Hall in London on Monday night alongside guitarist Jeff Beck for the second night in a row.

The actor waved and blew kisses to the crowd as they gave him a standing ovation and cheered his name after the set.

The actor joined Jeff Beck at London's Royal Albert Hall playing seven songs including Jimi Hendrix's Little Wing and John Lennon's Isolation.

Depp spent Sunday night onstage after apparently flying straight from his libel trial in Fairfax, Virginia, to Sheffield City Hall to rock with Beck, performing a cover of John Lennon's 'Isolation.'

What will Happen to Depp and Heard After the Verdict? What happens next to Johnny Depp and Amber Heard after trial and final verdict?

Full Lyrics, Video: Johnny Depp Sings 'Isolation' in Surprise Performance Amid all the seriousness of the trial, the actor was seen crashing a Jeff Beck concert in the United Kingdom, Sheffield. Beck's already ecstatic fans ...

What is The Final Verdict of Depp vs Heard Trial: A Symbolic Judgment! Updated: The seven-person civil jury (five men, two women) returned to begins deliberations in Johnny Depp-Amber Heard trial (May 31) after a three-day weekend.