Healing from heartbreak. Amber Heard’s reaction to Johnny Depp’s verdict in his defamation case against her shows how “heartbroken” and “sad” she is to lose her case.
Depp and Heard were married from 2015 to 2016. Heard filed for divorce in May 2016 after 15 months of marriage. In her divorce filing, she also obtained a temporary restraining order against Depp, claiming that he abused her while under the influence of drugs and alcohol. Depp denied the accusations, and a $7 million settlement was reached out of court in August 2016. Heard pledged to donate the money to the ACLU and the Children’s Hospital of Los Angeles. “Our relationship was intensely passionate and at times volatile, but always bound by love. Neither party has made false accusations for financial gain. There was never any intent of physical or emotional harm,” the two aid in a joint statement at the time.
In 2018, Heard wrote an op-ed in The Washington Post about her experience with domestic abuse. While she didn’t mention Depp by name, many believed that the post was about her ex-husband. Depp sued Heard for $50 million for defamation in 2019, claiming that the op-ed cost him acting jobs, including his roles in Walt Disney Pictures’ Pirates of the Caribbean franchise and Warner Bros. Pictures’ Fantastic Beasts series. Heard, for her part, countersued Depp for $100 million.
The trial for the case started in April 2022 and concluded in June 2022, where a seven-person jury consisting of five men and two women found Heard guilty of all three counts of defamation in her lawsuit with Depp. The jury ordered Heard to pay Depp $10 million in compensatory damages and $5 million in punitive damages for a total of $15 million. Depp, for his part, was found guilty of one count of defamation against Heard by the jury and was ordered to pay her $2 million in compensatory damages and zero dollars in punitive damages for a total of $2 million. Depp wasn’t present at the verdict hearing because he was in the United Kingdom, where he was performing rock concerts with musician Jeff Beck. Heard, however, was present at the hearing. After the court was adjourned, Heard hugged her lawyers and immediately exited the courtroom. Her attorneys and family, including her sister Whitney Henriquez who testified on her behalf during the trial, followed her.
So what was Amber Heard’s reaction to Johnny Depp’s verdict? Read on for how Amber Heard reacted to her guilty verdict and Johnny Depp’s win in his defamation case.
Image: Michael Reynolds/Pool Photo via AP.
What was Amber Heard’s reaction to Johnny Depp’s verdict?
What was Amber Heard’s reaction to Johnny Depp’s verdict? In a statement after the verdict was announced, Heard called the result a “setback” for women. “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,” she said. “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.”
She continued, “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 U.K. 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.”
Depp, who wasn’t present at the verdict announcement because he was in the United Kingdom, also reacted to the result in a statement, where he thanked the jury for giving him his “life back.” “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,” he said. “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.”
He continued, “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.”
In his statement, Depp also expressed that he was “overwhelmed by the outpouring of love and the colossal support and kindness from around the world.” He continued, “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.”
During the six-week trial, which started in April 2022, Heard slammed Depp’s fans for how they treated her after her ex-husband’s defamation lawsuit. “Perhaps it’s easy to forget that, but I’m a human being,” Heard said. “I am harassed, humiliated, threatened every single day. Even just walking into this courtroom, sitting here in front of the world, having the worst parts of my life, things that I’ve lived through, used to humiliate me. People want to kill me, and they tell me so every day. People want to put my baby in the microwave, and they tell me that.”
She continued, “I’m not a saint. I’m not trying to present myself as one, as you all know.” Heard also expressed how and “agonizing” it was to see people “mocking” her testimony online. “I just want Johnny to leave me alone,” she said. “I don’t deserve this. I want to move on.”
Depp, for his part, called Heard’s allegations of domestic abuse “insane” during the trial. “No human being is perfect, certainly not. None of us. But I have never in my life committed sexual battery, physical abuse, all these outlandish, outrageous stories of me committing these things and living with it for six years and waiting to be able to bring the truth out,” he said. He continued, “This is not easy for any of us; I know that,” he said, adding that Heard’s “heinous” accusations have “gotten out of control.”
If you or someone you know is experiencing domestic violence, help is available. Call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 800-799-SAFE (7233) for confidential support.
