Actor Johnny Depp on Wednesday released a lengthy statement celebrating his legal win against ex-wife Amber Heard, whom the jury found defamed Depp via a Washington Post op-ed she wrote in 2018.
The jury awarded Depp $15 million in monetary damages for Heard defaming him in an op-ed, published at The Washington Post in 2018. Heard was awarded $2 million over statements Depp lawyer Adam Waldman wrote about Heard allegedly intentionally messing up her apartment to stage a hoax against Depp.
“Six years later, the jury gave me my life back,” Depp said in the statement to Law&Crime Network. “I am truly humbled.”
Depp said his life was turned upside-down when Heard launched her accusations of domestic violence against him, fingering the media for perpetuating the lies.
“False, very serious and criminal allegations were levied at me via the media, which triggered an endless barrage of hateful content, although no charges were ever brought against me,” the “Pirates of the Caribbean” actor said. “It had already traveled around the world twice within a nanosecond and it had a seismic impact on my life and my career.”
Depp added that he pursued the case in the first place to “reveal the truth.”
Statement from #JohnnyDepp on winning his defamation lawsuit against his ex-wife, #AmberHeard @LawCrimeNetwork pic.twitter.com/LcC42KgPIE
— Angenette Levy (@Angenette5) June 1, 2022
Heard took to social media to voice her disappointment over the verdict.
“The disappointment I feel today is beyond words,” she wrote in a statement posted on her Twitter. “I’m heartbroken that the mounting of evidence still was not enough to stand up to the disproportionate power, influence, and sway of my ex-husband.”
“I’m even more disappointed with what this verdict means for other women,” the actress continued. “It is a setback. It sets back the clock to a time when a woman who spoke up and spoke out could be publicly shamed and humiliated. It sets back the idea that violence against women is to be taken seriously.”
“I’m sad I lost this case,” Heard closed. “But I am sadder still that I seem to have lost a right I thought I had as an American – to speak freely and openly.”
— Amber Heard (@realamberheard) June 1, 2022
During the intense trial, Heard detailed serious allegations of abuse at the hands of Depp, including a rape with a possibly broken Maker’s Mark bottle.
Depp and his legal team denied all allegations and told the jury that Heard perpetrated a #MeToo hoax to take from Depp, and also to punish him for leaving her.
The trial started on April 12, and lasted six weeks.