Johnny Depp And Amber Heard Defamation Trial: Summary And Timeline

She alleged that on May 21, before filing for divorce, an incident had recently taken place in which Depp threw his phone at her, leaving her with a bruised face. However, a police spokesman told People that an investigation into the domestic incident radio call found that no crime had taken place. Depp suffered a significant setback before the trial began when the judge in the case, Virginia Judge Penney Azcarate, found that Heard could argue that her op-ed deals with a matter of public interest.

He alleges that the piece seriously damaged his career and cost him in excess of $40 million in earnings. In 2018, the “Aquaman” actress penned an op-ed for The Washington Post about women who’ve suffered from domestic abuse. After only 15 months of marriage, Heard filed for divorce and it was finalized in 2016. Heard also accused the “Sweeney Todd” actor of abuse on multiple occasions, including accusations of hitting her with a bottle, forcing her to give him oral sex and subjecting her to “cavity searches” during their marriage. According to both parties, the relationship was “at times volatile,” including one infamous night in 2016 where Heard allegedly hit the actor with a “haymaker” punch the same night she allegedly pooped in his bed.

In May of that year, the couple faced legal trouble in Australia after local authorities learned that Depp and Heard illegally brought their Yorkshire Terriers to the country when they failed to subject the dogs to Australia’s 10-day quarantine. The couple could have faced a sentence of up to 10 years in prison but were instead only required to issue an apology. In April 2016, Depp and Heard released the infamous video where they awkwardly apologized for violating the country’s bio-security codes by not declaring the dogs. And a few months earlier in January 1998, Moss denied reports speculating that she and Depp had ordered a champagne-filled bath at a West London hotel after word surfaced that a model and an actor had requested the luxurious treat, which uses 36 bottles of bubbly.

While Heard was recorded referencing a time Depp “beat the shit” out of her — he continued to deny ever hitting her and accused her of being the abuser. Several A-list starts including her ex-boyfriend Elon Musk, actor Paul Bettany and Ellen Barkin are expected to take the witness stand. The young actress starred opposite Timothee Chalamet in the 2019 Netflix movie The King. Depp is reportedly in talks to star in another ‘Pirates of the Caribbean’ film and reprise his role as Captain Jack Sparrow after a $301 million offer from Disney.

A judge in Britain found in 2020 that Mr. Depp had assaulted Ms. Heard and put her ‘in fear of her life.’

The pair met in 2011 on the set of The Rum Diary, a film adaption of a novel by Depp’s friend Hunter S Thompson, before they started living together in around 2012. Ohnny Depp has lost his high-profile libel claim against the publisher of The Sun over allegations he was violent towards his ex-wife Amber Heard during their relationship. In the years since their divorce, there have been numerous accusations of infidelity, abuse, and violence levied by both sides as well as ongoing court battles.

She lost despite her sister, multiple friends, a makeup artist, and a couples counsellor attesting to seeing her injuries. And she lost despite facing the jury and recounting graphic, painful episodes of alleged physical and sexual violence. Heard, admittedly, was not good on the stand during direct examination—she did a lot of tearless crying, and she often appeared to be performing her sorrow rather than reliving it. But that returns us to Rottenborn’s list of all the pincer movements that close in on abuse victims. The accuser’s affect and presentation are somehow a more damning incrimination than, say, a video of her alleged abuser trashing a kitchen. In 2019, Depp filed a multi-million-dollar lawsuit against his ex-wife, after she wrote a 2018 op-ed for The Washington Post, where she referred to herself a “public figure representing domestic abuse.”

Depp further shared that Heard’s current relationship with Lily-Rose and his son, Jack, is “non-existent.” During his testimony Wednesday, Depp detailed why his daughter, Lily-Rose Depp, wasn’t in attendance at the 20-person-plus nuptials. “We tracked each other down. We tracked each other down. Actually, incidentally, it was amazing. It was at the first day of press on “The Rum Diary.” Then we married that very day.” Depp testified that the pair didn’t have much interaction on the set of “The Rum Diary” until they filmed a shower scene in 2012. Two years later, Heard once again faced an uphill battle, this time in the form of “paid rumors and paid campaigns on social media,” seeking to have her replaced in an “Aquaman” sequel.

Amber Heard says she scared of future lawsuits from Depp

“The verdict’s message to victims of domestic violence is…be afraid to stand up and speak out.” Johnny Depp’s lawyers presented two private letters in court that Heard wrote for the actor, alongside an image of the pair on holiday in Australia, from what they described as a series of “love journals” that Heard had complied and shared with Depp, Insider reported. As Insider previously reported, Depp filed the defamation suit against Heard in response to an op-ed she wrote for the Washington Post that detailed her experience with domestic violence. Depp’s name isn’t mentioned, but the article was widely interpreted as being about him. On May 23, 2016, Heard filed for divorce from Depp and, four days later, obtained a temporary restraining order against the Oscar-nominated actor. She alleged that Depp had physically abused her during their relationship, and said it was usually while under the influence of drugs or alcohol.

The jury found that both Johnny Depp and Amber Heard were defamed, but awarded more money to him.

During Heard’s interview with Guthrie, Heard admitted that she still loves Depp despite what happened with the trial. The “Aquaman” actress also said that she does not blame the jury for ruling in favor of her ex-husband. Bredehoft also said that Heard is unable to pay the $10.35 million in damages to her ex-husband, the Fairfax County Judge Penney Azcarate had cut the amount Heard would owe to $10.35 million citing Virginia laws limiting punitive damages in defamation cases. cancel tapple “Your presence shows where your priorities are,” the spokesperson said. “Johnny Depp plays guitar in the UK while Amber Heard waits for a verdict in Virginia. Depp is taking his snickering and lack of seriousness on tour.” Depp began the exchange by informing Jacobs that the producers of “London Fields” intended to debut their film at the Toronto International Film Festival and that she should contact them immediately about cutting nude scenes that featured Heard.

According to The New York Post, Depp told the court the photos were taken at a time when he had “fallen off the wagon.” In August 2016, Amber Heard had her restraining order rescinded and she and Johnny Depp agreed on a financial settlement. In 2017, their divorce was finalized but problems would still plague them. As part of the divorce settlement, there was a non-disparagement clause that stipulated that neither party could publicly say anything negative about the other, according to Insider. According to USA Today, Heard said she was donating the money to the Children’s Hospital of Los Angeles and the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU). The very brief marriage between Johnny Depp and Amber Heard came to an end in a very public way when Heard alleged that Depp had been repeatedly abusive to her during their relationship, usually while he was drinking.

Ms Heard came out as bisexual in 2010 and was in a relationship with artist Tasya van Ree. Heard and Delevingne (top left) have long been rumored as a couple even if the pair has never confirmed a relationship to the public. There are reports that Heard had an affair with Delevingne during her marriage to Depp, however. The ongoing Amber Heard/Johnny Depp defamation trial has been full of twists and turns, but one thing is for certain – the two former lovebirds don’t seem to hold much of a candle for each other anymore.

“I was really in love, and it hurt bad…Well, she broke up with me more than I broke up with her, I think.” Amid a nasty court battle between Hollywood stars Johnny Depp and Amber Heard, one name that has been prominent throughout is that of billionaire Elon Musk. In his UK libel case against a tabloid, Depp had accused Musk of having an affair with Heard while she was still married to Depp. Court documents alleged that Musk had a “three-way affair” with Heard and model-actress Cara Delevingne at Depp and Heard’s apartment in Los Angeles in 2016 while the actor was away in Australia for shooting. Musk later went on record to deny the accusation and called Cara Delevingne his friend. Musk though admitted to having dated Heard but only after she had filed for divorce from Depp.

In the cross-examination, Heard’s lawyer brought up testimonies from other doctors who believed Heard was a victim of domestic violence, and questioned why Curry had dinner and drinks at Depp’s house with the actor’s legal team before she was hired. Depp’s suit which set the current lawsuit into action was filed in 2019 and claims that Heard is fabricating the allegations to generate “positive publicity”. After a long and tiresome 6-week trial, it was announced on June 1 that Johnny Depp won the defamation lawsuit against his ex-wife Amber Heard after the jury came to a verdict, following three days of deliberation. Johnny was awarded $5 million in punitive damages, as well as $10 million in compensatory damages. Amber was awarded $2 million after the court ruled that a statement made by Adam Waldman was defamatory.