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The jury has come to a verdict in the defamation trial Johnny Depp brought against his now ex-wife, Amber Heard. We will be updating this live as the news breaks.
At 12:02pm (PST), the verdict was expected to be read. But, the Judge ordered lawyers to retire to complete paperwork for compensatory damages. This means that at the very least, the jury has found defamation via unanimous vote. The court took a recess.
12:19pm (PST) the judge has requested the jury to file back into the room.
12:20pm (PST) The jury finds Depp has proven defamation in the case of Heard’s op-eds. Every single instance being read results in a yes.
12:25pm (PST) The jury awards $5 million in punitive damages to Depp from Heard.
12:26pm (PST) The jury finds Heard did prove defamation on behalf of Depp on one count, when Depp’s lawyer called her abuse allegations a hoax. She is awarded $2 million.
The total awarded to Depp is $15 million, both in compensatory and punitive damages. Although Virginia has a cap of $350,000 in damages.
12:30pm (PST) The judge has called for another court date for later this month to fully go over compensatory monies.
Verdict Reached in Johnny Depp v. Amber Heard Trial [Updating]
Mary Anne Butler
Mary Anne Butler (Mab) got her start in album reviews and live concert coverage for a nationally published (print) music magazine as a teenager. She eventually transitioned to online media, writing for such sites as UGO/IGN, ComicsOnline, Geek Magazine, Ace of Geeks, Aggressive Comix (Editor-in-Chief), Bleeding Cool (News Editor), Nerdbot (as Editor-In-Chief), and now [Bad]Influencers, where she is Editor-in-Chief. Over the past 15 years, she’s built a well-known reputation at conventions across the globe as a cosplayer (occasionally), photographer (constantly), panelist and moderator (mostly), and reporter (always). Interviews, reviews, observations, breaking news, and objective reporting are the name of the game for the founder of Harkonnen Knife Fight, a Dune-themed band. She also produces award-winning immersive events, including Wasteland Weekend and Neotropolis.