INTRODUCTION
John C. Depp, II v. Amber Laura Heard was a trial held in Fairfax County, Virginia, from April 11, 2022, to June 1, 2022. This is a case related to defamation between Johnny Depp and Amber Heard, two American actors who had previously been married. Depp filed three counts of defamation against Heard as the defendant, seeking damages of at least $50 million. Heard responded with counterclaims seeking damages of no more than $100 million.
In this article, Team YLCC provides a detailed overview on the outcome of the Johnny Depp-Amber Heard defamation case that transpired earlier this year. Read on!
BACKGROUND
In the year 2009, Depp and Heard got to know one another while “The Rum Diary,” a movie based on the Hunter S. Thompson book, was being made. Depp portrayed Paul Kemp, a journalist who relocated to Puerto Rico and developed an obsession with Chenault, played by Heard, who was engaged to a businessman. According to court documents from Heard, Depp and Heard started dating in 2012. Depp and his long-time partner Vanessa Paradis called it quits in the same year after a 14-year relationship. After many years of dating, Depp and Heard married in a very secret ceremony at their Los Angeles home and their marriage lasted for 15 months.
Heard filed for divorce from Depp on May 23, 2016, and she was placed under a temporary restraining order four days later. She claimed that Depp had physically mistreated her during their relationship, and she said that Depp was frequently inebriated at the time. She claimed that just days prior to filing for divorce on May 21, Depp allegedly hurled his phone at her, leaving her with a damaged face. However, a police official informed People that no crime had been committed after an inquiry following the domestic incident radio call. Depp refuted these allegations and said that Heard was “trying to secure a premature financial resolution by alleging abuse,” via his representatives. A year after Heard filed, Depp and Heard’s divorce was finalized and they reached at a 7 million divorce settlement. A non-disclosure agreement (NDA) was also a provision of the settlement that forbade the parties from discussing their relationship in public.[1]
CASE AGAINST BRITISH TABLOID
In June 2018, Depp launched a separate legal action against the publisher of British tabloid The Sun and its executive director Dan Wootton at the High Court in London over a 2018 article in which Wootton called Depp a “wife-beater”. The article titled, “Gone Potty – How can JK Rowling be genuinely happy casting wife beater Johnny Depp in the new Fantastic Beast Film?”
Depp lost this case in November 2020. The Judge concluded that the article published in the tabloid was substantially true and Depp was also not allowed to appeal against the decision.[2]
OPINION EDITORIAL BY HEARD IN THE WASHINGTON POST
In December 2018, Heard published the op-ed for The Washington Post that forms the basis of the defamation case. In her article, Heard discussed how she was abused from a young age until she was an adult. The article did not mention Depp by name but his lawyer told the jurors it was clear that Heard was referring to him. Depp sued Heard for defamation, alleging that Heard used the post article as a ploy to generate favourable coverage for herself.[3] Depp also asserted that she is the aggressor in domestic violence rather than the victim. Depp demanded $50 million in compensation. The Fairfax County Circuit Court heard the trial. The location was chosen because the county is where The Washington Post’s op-ed is published both online and in print.
COMMENTS MADE BY WALDMAN IN THE DAILY MAIL
Heard’s counterclaims were pursued throughout the trial in relation to three statements from Adam Waldman, Depp’s lawyer, that were released by the Daily Mail in April and June 2020.
Waldman first said that “Depending on their objectives, Amber Heard and her media allies have used false accusations of sexual assault as both a sword and a shield. They have chosen a few of her false accusations of sexual assault to use as the sword, inflicting them on Mr. Depp and the general public.”
Second, Waldman spoke about an incident that occurred at Depp and Heard’s Hollywood penthouse in 2016: “Simply put, this was a fraud and an ambush. The first time they tried to frame Mr. Depp by calling the cops, it failed. The officers arrived at the penthouses, conducted a thorough search and interrogation, and then left after not finding any physical or property damage. In order to get their tales straight under the guidance of a lawyer and publicist, Amber and her friends spilt some wine, trashed the property, and then made a second call to 911.”
Third, according to Waldman, “Ms. Heard’s abuse hoax against Johnny Depp has reached the beginning of the end.”
ARGUMENTS
Lawyers representing Depp accused Heard of faking allegations of domestic abuse against Depp in order to advance her career, claiming that Heard manufactured the claims because Depp had asked for a divorce. They claimed that even though Heard’s 2018 op-ed lacked the name of Depp, it was obvious by inference that it was referring to him. Heard was seen in public on May 27, 2016, with a bruised face. Depp’s attorneys discussed this and said that Heard staged the injury because he hadn’t seen her since May 21, 2016, and witnesses had not seen the bruised face right away.
According to Heard’s Lawyers, Depp repeatedly assaulted Heard physically and sexually throughout their relationship, usually as a result of his alcohol and drug usage. They claimed Depp intended to use the Virginia lawsuit to “humiliate Amber, haunt her, and damage her career” and to make the matter into a “soap opera.” They added that Heard’s freedom to express her opinions in the op-ed, which mainly covered a broad issue of domestic violence and lacked specifically mentioning Depp, was protected by the First Amendment.[4]
JUDGEMENT
After nearly two days of deliberations, On June 1, 2022, the jury decided that Depp had established all elements of defamation for all claims made in Heard’s 2018 op-ed, including that the claims were false and that Heard had actually intended to harm Depp. The jury decided to award Depp $5 million in punitive damages from Heard and $10 million in compensatory damages. However, due to a limit imposed by Virginia state law, the punitive damages were decreased to $350,000.[5]
Regarding Heard’s counterclaim, the jury decided that the second of the three contested remarks that Depp’s former counsel Adam Waldman had published in the Daily Mail were false and defamatory and had actually maliciously slandered Heard. The jury came to the conclusion that the defence team for Heard had not established all the elements of libel in relation to the other two contested comments. Depp paid $2 million in compensatory damages to Heard, but no punitive damages were given.
[1] Gittins, W. (2022, May 27). Johnny Depp v Amber Heard trial summary: 26 May. https://en.as.com/latest_news/johnny-depp-v-amber-heard-trial-live-breaking-news-kate-moss-testimony-updates-today-26-may-n/
[2] Honderich, H. (2022, April 12). Inside Johnny Depp and Amber Heard’s legal battle.BBC News. https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-61070988
[3] Garber, M. (2022, May 26). The Amber Heard–Johnny Depp Trial Is Not a Joke. The Atlantic. https://www.theatlantic.com/culture/archive/2022/05/johnny-depp-amber-heard-trial-livestream-jokes/631648/
[4] Biswas, S. (2022, June 2). Johnny Depp vs Amber Heard verdict: Who gets what and why in this lawsuit. Livemint. https://www.livemint.com/news/world/johnny-depp-vs-amber-heard-verdict-who-gets-what-and-why-in-this-lawsuit-11654171619648.html
[5] Blake, M., & Mcnamara, M. (2022, June 3). We can’t agree on the meaning of Depp vs. Heard. Here’s how we move forward anyway. Los Angeles Times. https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/story/2022-06-03/johnny-depp-amber-heard-verdict-trial-case-analysis
YLCC would like to thank Dipti Tharwani for her valuable insights in this article.
