In Johnny Depp’s defamation action against ex-girlfriend Amber Heard, a decision was made six months ago. In a 2018 op-ed essay on domestic violence survivors, Heard referred to Depp as an abuser without naming him, and the jury agreed that this constituted slander. He received $5 million in punitive damages and $10 million in compensatory damages. Following a Virginia statutory cap, the court quickly cut the $5 million number to $350,000.
The jury granted Amber $2 million in compensatory damages in her countersuit, giving her a partial victory. They ultimately came to an agreement despite the fact that Heard and Depp both filed appeals in the lawsuit. Heard posted a long Instagram message on Monday. ‘After much thought, I have decided to make a very painful choice to settle the defamation action launched against me by my ex-husband in Virginia,’ she said.
It’s crucial for me to state that I never choose this, she continued. ‘ I stood up for my truth, and in doing so, I shattered my life as I knew it’. The ‘vilification’ Amber experienced online, according to Amber, is ‘an enhanced version of the ways in which women are re-victimized when they come forward’. Heard said, ‘I now have the chance to free myself from something on terms that I can accept after trying to do so for more than six years. I haven’t confessed anything. This does not constitute a concession. Moving forward, my voice is not subject to any limitations or gags. The American judicial system, where my unprotected rights are, has lost my trust, thus I’ve made this decision’, she remarked.
Heard brought up the British liberal case as well, which she prevailed in. ‘ When I stood before a court in the UK, I was vindicated by a rigorous, unbiased, and fair system, where I was shielded from having to deliver the worst portions of my testimony in front of the world’s media,’ she wrote. ‘ However, in the US, I used practically all of my resources in preparation for and during a trial where I was exposed to a jury that disregarded copious amounts of direct evidence that supported my testimony. In the interval, I experienced a form of humiliation that I am unable to repeat’.
In opting to settle this lawsuit, Amber said, ‘I am choosing the freedom to devote my time to the work that helped me recover after my divorce; work that exists in realms in which I feel seen, heard, and believed, and in which I know I can influence change’. Amber expressed her gratitude to her legal team before she concluded. ‘ I’d like to thank my fantastic appeal and original trial teams for their tireless hard work,’ she added. ‘I would want to express my gratitude to all of my supporters and draw attention to the rising amount of solidarity with my experience that has been demonstrated in public in the months since the trail’.
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