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The long-drawn defamation trial between Johnny Depp and Amber Heard finally came to a conclusion on May 1, 2022, after the seven-person jury panel unanimously voted in Depp's favour. The allegations of domestic abuse made by Amber Heard against Depp were rendered false by the jury.
The former couple's short-lived marriage ended in 2016. Johnny Depp sued Amber Heard over an op-ed she had authored for The Washington Post in 2018, claiming that she had defamed him by calling herself a survivor of domestic abuse. Heard had written:
"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."
After six weeks of trial in the Fairfax County Circuit Court in Lexington, Virginia, the jury came to a verdict after 13 hours of deliberations. The seven-person jury was unanimous in their decision, and found Depp's defamation allegations against Heard to be true. They ordered her to pay $15 million in damages to Depp, which was then lowered to $ 10.35 million in accordance with the laws of Virginia.
Only one count of Amber Heard's defamation charges against Depp were found to be true, and she was awarded damages worth $2 million. A statement made by Depp's former lawyer Adam Waldman was found to be defamatory in nature:
“Amber Heard and her friends in the media use fake s*xual-violence allegations as both a sword and shield depending on their needs. They have selected some of her s*xual-violence hoax 'facts' as the sword, inflicting them on the public and Mr. Depp.”
5 celebrity reactions to Johnny Depp's victory
Celebrities across the world have voiced their varied opinions on social media in regard to the verdict of the trial. We have listed five such reactions below.
1) Sharon Osbourne
British TV personality Sharon Osbourne connected via call on Pierce Morgan Uncensored to extend her support to Depp. She said that although she had wanted Johnny Depp to win, she had not expected that to be the case.
She went on to say how Depp is a "gentle soul" and gave an example. Depp was in the United Kingdom, where he had a prior commitment to play onstage with musician Jeff Beck. According to Sharon Osbourne, Depp spent 45 minutes entertaining a little girl in the green room, who was reading him her diary.
2) Ashley Benson
American actor Ashley Benson, widely known for her role in the series Pretty Little Liars, celebrated the verdict and showed her support by sharing an image of Johnny Depp on her Instagram profile and captioning it "YESSSSS 🖤🖤🖤🖤🖤🖤."
She also commented on Depp's post which he shared shortly after the verdict, expressing gratitude to the jury and everyone who supported him.
3) Valerie Bertinelli
Golden Globe winner Valerie Bertinelli tweeted in support of Johnny Depp and took a dig at Elon Musk's recent acquisition of Twitter.
She then went on to tweet that she was unsure as to the reason behind so many lawyers and journalists she followed and respected being averse to the verdict. In an open-ended question, she asked if she was missing something.
4) Donald Trump Jr.
Donald Trump Jr., American businessman and eldest son of former American President Donald Trump, tweeted in support of the verdict in favor of Depp. While his tweet seemed to express his frustration with Amber Heard more than anything else, he indirectly showed support towards Depp. Donald Trump Jr. expects the outcome of this trial to change the current scenario of men being treated as guilty until proven innocent.
5) Amy Schumer
American stand-up comedian and actor Amy Schumer extended her support to Amber Heard by sharing a quote by Gloria Steinman which states how womens' opinions are belittled by society and the importance of sisterhood in these moments.
Many more celebrities have voiced their support for Johnny Depp on social media and have commented on the post he shared after his victory. The likes of LaKeith Stanfield, Zoe Saldana, Emma Roberts, Gemma Chan, Bella Hadid, Taika Waititi, Jennifer Aniston, Henry Golding, Joey King, Riley Keough, and Jason Momoa have liked his post.
