Johnny Depp, 58, sued Amber Heard, 36, for $50 million dollars, alleging she defamed him by claiming to be a victim of domestic abuse.
That article never mentions Depp by name, but his lawyers said he was defamed – and the jury agreed. Most of the article relates to domestic violence, and Amber Heard’s lawyers said she had a First Amendment right to speak out.
Depp’s lawyers pointed to two passages in the article that they said referred to Depp, without a doubt.
In the first article, Heard wrote that “two years ago, I became a public figure representing domestic abuse, and I felt the full force of our cultures wrath.” Depp’s lawyers called it a clear nod to Depp, since that publicly accused Depp of domestic violence in 2016 – almost two years before writing the article.
In a second passage, she said, “I had the rare vantage point of seeing, in real time, how institutions protect men accused of abuse.” Depp’s lawyers also sought damages over a headline that appeared above the online version of the article even though Heard didn’t write it – but tweeted it along with the article.
Multiple series of testimony alluded to drug use by both parties but Heard tried to paint Depp as the abuser and major drug addict. She went so far as to stage some abuse photos and got caught doing so.
Heard also was accused of withholding the meds that Depp desperately needed while going through treatment for with drawl from drugs.
