Washington: Johnny Depp welcomed the verdict after the jury awarded the “Pirates of the Caribbean” actor more than $10 million and his ex-wife Amber Heard $2 million in the bitterly contested defamation case that has come an end.
“The jury gave me my life back. I am truly humbled,” Depp said in a statement.
“From the very beginning, the goal of bringing this case was to reveal the truth, regardless of the outcome,” he said.
Depp filed the defamation suit against a 2018 op-ed Heard wrote in The Washington Post describing herself as “a public figure representing domestic abuse”. The op-ed did not name Depp, but he said it pointed towards him and had hurt his career.
While awarding more than $10 million to Depp, the jury of the Virginia court also said that Heard too had been defamed by one of Depp’s lawyers and awarded her $2 million.
Heard said she was “heartbroken”.
“I’m even more disappointed with what this verdict means for other women. It’s a setback. It sets back the clock to a time when a woman who spoke up and spoke out could be publicly humiliated. It sets back the idea that violence against women is to be taken seriously,” she posted on Twitter.
