<\/a>Jurors in Virginia on Wednesday ruled in favour of Hollywood actor Johnny Depp, in the libel case brought by the actor against his ex-wife Amber Heard.
\nDepp had filed a $50 million (\u20ac47 million) lawsuit against Heard, arguing that she defamed him in an op-ed for the Washington Post. Jury members found Depp should be awarded more than $10 million (\u20ac9.3 million) in damages.
\nHowever, the jury also found in favour Heard in some aspects of her $100 million (\u20ac93.8 million) counterclaim which said she was defamed by Depp\u2019s lawyer when he called her abuse allegations a hoax. The jury ruled that Heard should\u00a0receive $2 million (\u20ac1.8 million).
\nIn the article, written in 2018, Heard described herself as a \u201cpublic figure representing domestic abuse\u201d, but did not include Depp\u2019s name.
\nThe jury had to decide if two particular passages of the article and the headline were defamatory. Because Depp is a public figure, Heard could only be found guilty if it was decided that she knew what she wrote was false.
\nHeard\u2019s lawyers had told the jury that the case should fail if Heard suffered even one incident of abuse.
\nDepp, who has starred in blockbuster movies including the \u201cPirates of the Caribbean\u201d films and the \u201cFantastic Beasts\u201d franchise, said he never struck Heard or any woman, and that Heard\u2019s allegations cost him \u201ceverything.\u201d
\nHeard\u2019s attorneys have argued that she told the truth and that her opinion was protected as free speech under the US Constitution\u2019s First Amendment.
\n“The jury gave me my life back. I am truly humbled,” Depp who wasn\u2019t in court for the verdict, said in a statement.
\nThe actor said that the allegations made against him had triggered \u201can endless barrage of hateful content\u201d which had a \u201cseismic\u201d impact on his life and career.
\nHis statement continued: \u201cI hope that my quest to have the truth be told will have helped others, men or women, who have found themselves in my situation, and that those supporting them never give up.”\u00a0\u201cThe best is yet to come and a new chapter has finally begun,\u201d he added.
\nAmber Heard said that the disappointment she felt after the verdict was \u201cbeyond words\u201d.
\n\u201cI\u2019m heartbroken that the mountain of evidence still was not enough to stand up to the disproportionate power, influence and sway of my ex-husband,” she wrote in a statement.
\n\u201cI\u2019m even more disappointed with what this verdict means for other women,\u201d she added.
\n\u201cIt 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.\u201d<\/p>\n

– Input from euronews.com<\/strong> was used in this article<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Jurors in Virginia on Wednesday ruled in favour of Hollywood actor Johnny Depp, in the libel case brought by the actor against his ex-wife Amber Heard. Depp had filed a $50 million (\u20ac47 million) lawsuit against Heard, arguing that she defamed him in an op-ed for the Washington Post. Jury members found Depp should be … Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_editorskit_title_hidden":false,"_editorskit_reading_time":0,"_editorskit_is_block_options_detached":false,"_editorskit_block_options_position":"{}","footnotes":""},"categories":[12],"tags":[14207,14385,14387,14386],"yoast_head":"\n