Johnny Depp: Jury deliberations begin in Amber Heard defamation trial
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After a six-week trial in Virginia, jury deliberations in the high-profile defamation case between Johnny Depp and Amber Heard have begun.
A $50 million (£40 million) lawsuit has been filed against his ex-wife over an essay she authored in which she claims to be an abuse victim. Ms Heard, 36, filed a countersuit for $100 million.
Mr Depp, according to Ms Heard’s staff, is a bully and abuser who should not be trusted.
For a verdict, the jury of seven must reach a unanimous conclusion. They started deliberating soon after both sides finished their closing arguments.
Ms Heard’s lawyer, Benjamin Rottenborn, reminded jurors of explicit text messages between Mr Depp and his associates, in which he expressed his desire to harm his ex-wife.
The arguments on Friday mimicked much of the previous six weeks of testimony, in which both parties gave opposing portrayals of the former couple’s five-year relationship.
Mr Depp, according to Ms Heard and her lawyers, is an unstable and vicious man who is prone to drug and alcohol binges and violent behaviour.
Mr Depp painted a very different picture, stating that Ms Heard was a controlling wife who abused and humiliated him. He told jurors on the stand that his ex-wife had a “need” for conflict and violence, and that she injured him by removing the tips of one of his fingers.
Ms Heard wrote an op-ed in 2018 in which she described her experience as a “public figure representing domestic abuse.”
Ms Vasquez said on Friday that the article was a fabrication that had harmed Mr Depp’s reputation, despite the fact that the essay did not specifically name him.
Mr Rottenborn, Ms Heard’s lawyer, requested the jury to concentrate on Ms Heard’s words in the account when making their conclusion.
Hundreds of screaming admirers welcomed Mr Depp outside the courtroom on Friday morning, as they had done on most days of the trial.
The celebrity case, which was televised live every day, drew a lot of attention from the public as both performers accused one other of emotional, physical, and verbal abuse.