The actor was awarded $10M in punitive damages and Heard won $2M in compensatory damages for winning one counterclaim.
Actor Johnny Depp won more than $10 million in damages on Wednesday, achieving a near-total victory in a defamation suit against ex-wife Amber Heard to cap a six-week trial featuring graphic testimony about the stars’ soured relationship.
A seven-person jury in Virginia also ruled for Heard on one counterclaim against Depp. The Pirates of the Caribbean film star depicted the decision as a vindication, and his former wife said it was “a disappointment.”
Jurors awarded Depp $15 million in damages from Heard, which the judge reduced to $10.35 million to comply with state limits on punitive damages. The panel ordered Depp to pay Heard $2 million in damages.
Depp, 58, had sued Heard for $50 million and argued that she defamed him when she called herself “a public figure representing domestic abuse” in a newspaper opinion piece. Heard countersued for $100 million, saying Depp smeared her when his lawyer called her accusations a “hoax.”
Testimony was livestreamed widely on social media, drawing large audiences to hear details about the couple’s troubled relationship.
