Amber Heard Slams Johnny Depp Trial Verdict: ‘It Is a Setback’ for Women

Amber Heard is disappointed “beyond words” regarding the verdict to Johnny Depp’s defamation lawsuit against her. The jury in the trial ruled that Heard defamed Depp when she wrote a 2018 Washington Post op-ed alluding to her past claims of domestic violence. Heard is now ordered to pay $15 million in damages to Depp.

“The disappointment I feel today is beyond words,” Heard wrote in a  statement. “I’m heartbroken that the mountain of evidence still was not enough to stand up to the disproportionate power, influence, and sway of my ex-husband.”

Heard continued, “I’m even more disappointed with what this verdict means for other women. 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 believe Johnny’s attorneys succeeded in getting the jury to overlook the key issue of Freedom of Speech and ignore evidence that was so conclusive that we won in the U.K.,” Heard concluded. “I’m sad I lost this case. 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.”

The jury also found that Depp defamed Heard in the course of fighting back against her charges. While the jury awarded Depp $10 million in compensatory damages and $5 million in punitive damages, it also awarded Heard $2 million in compensatory damages for her counterclaim.

As Variety reported on the verdict: “The court clerk read aloud the jury’s verdict, finding that Heard had defamed Depp with each of three statements in the op-ed. The jury also found that Heard had acted with ‘actual malice,’ meaning that they were convinced she had made the statements knowing they were false. The jury ruled in favor of Heard on one out of three statements that were made by Depp’s lawyer, Adam Waldman.”