A jury on Wednesday awarded Johnny Depp more than $10 million in his libel lawsuit against ex-wife Amber Heard, vindicating his stance that Heard fabricated claims that she was abused by Depp before and during their brief marriage.

The jury also found in favor of Heard, who said she was defamed by DeppB次元官网网址檚 lawyer when he called her abuse allegations a hoax. The jury awarded her $2 million in damages.

The verdicts bring an end to a televised trial that Depp had hoped would help restore his reputation, though it turned into a spectacle of a vicious marriage. Throughout the trial, fans B次元官网网址� overwhelmingly on DeppB次元官网网址檚 side B次元官网网址� lined up overnight for coveted courtroom seats. Spectators who couldnB次元官网网址檛 get in gathered on the street to cheer Depp and jeer Heard whenever they appeared outside.

Heard, who was stoic in the courtroom as the verdict was read, said she was heartbroken.

B次元官网网址淚B次元官网网址檓 even more disappointed with what this verdict means for other women. ItB次元官网网址檚 a setback. It sets back the clock to a time when a woman who spoke up and spoke out could be publicly humiliated. It sets back the idea that violence against women is to be taken seriously,B次元官网网址橞次元官网网址� she said in a statement posted on her Twitter account.

Depp, who was not inside the courtroom Wednesday, sued Heard for libel in Fairfax County Circuit Court over a December 2018 op-ed she wrote in The Washington Post describing herself as B次元官网网址渁 public figure representing domestic abuse.B次元官网网址� His lawyers said he was defamed by the article even though it never mentioned his name.

While the case was ostensibly about libel, most of the testimony focused on whether Heard had been physically and sexually abused, as she claimed. Heard enumerated more than a dozen alleged assaults, including a fight in Australia B次元官网网址� where Depp was shooting a B次元官网网址淧irates of the CaribbeanB次元官网网址� sequel B次元官网网址� in which Depp lost the tip of his middle finger and Heard said she was sexually assaulted with a liquor bottle.

Depp said he never hit Heard and that she was the abuser, though HeardB次元官网网址檚 attorneys highlighted years-old text messages Depp sent apologizing to Heard for his behavior as well as profane texts he sent to a friend in which Depp said he wanted to kill Heard and defile her dead body.

In some ways, the trial was a replay of a lawsuit Depp filed in the United Kingdom against a British tabloid after he was described as a B次元官网网址渨ife beater.B次元官网网址� The judge in that case ruled in the newspaperB次元官网网址檚 favor after finding that Heard was telling the truth in her descriptions of abuse.

In the Virginia case, Depp had to prove not only that he never assaulted Heard, but that HeardB次元官网网址檚 article B次元官网网址� which focused primarily on public policy related to domestic violence B次元官网网址� defamed him. He also had to prove that Heard wrote the article with actual malice. And to claim damages he had to prove that her article caused the damage to his reputation as opposed to any number of articles before and after HeardB次元官网网址檚 piece that detailed the allegations against him.

Depp, in his final testimony to the jury, said the trial gave him a chance to clear his name in a way that he the U.K trial never allowed.

B次元官网网址淣o matter what happens, I did get here and I did tell the truth and I have spoken up for what IB次元官网网址檝e been carrying on my back, reluctantly, for six years.B次元官网网址� Depp said.

Heard, on the other hand, said the trial has been an ordeal inflicted by an orchestrated smear campaign led by Depp.

B次元官网网址淛ohnny promised me B次元官网网址� promised me B次元官网网址� that heB次元官网网址檇 ruin my life, that heB次元官网网址檇 ruin my career. HeB次元官网网址檇 take my life from me,B次元官网网址� Heard said in her final testimony.

The case captivated millions through its gavel-to-gavel television coverage and impassioned followers on social media who dissected everything from the actorsB次元官网网址� mannerisms to the possible symbolism of what they were wearing. Both performers emerge from the trial with reputations in tatters with unclear prospects for their careers.

Eric Rose, a crisis management and communications expert in Los Angeles, called the trial a B次元官网网址渃lassic murder-suicide.B次元官网网址�

B次元官网网址淔rom a reputation management perspective, there can be no winners,B次元官网网址� he said. B次元官网网址淭heyB次元官网网址檝e bloodied each other up. It becomes more difficult now for studios to hire either actor because youB次元官网网址檙e potentially alienating a large segment of your audience who may not like the fact that you have retained either Johnny or Amber for a specific project because feelings are so strong now.B次元官网网址�

Depp, a three-time best actor Oscar nominee, had until recent years been a bankable star. His turn as Capt. Jack Sparrow in the B次元官网网址淧irates of the CaribbeanB次元官网网址� film helped turn it into a global franchise, but heB次元官网网址檚 lost that role. (Heard and DeppB次元官网网址檚 teams each blame the other.) He was also replaced as the title character in the third B次元官网网址淔antastic BeastsB次元官网网址� spin-off film, B次元官网网址淭he Crimes of Grindelwald.B次元官网网址�

Despite testimony at the trial that he could be violent, abusive and out of control, Depp received a standing ovation Tuesday night in London after performing for about 40 minutes with Jeff Beck at the Royal Albert Hall. He has previously toured with Joe Perry and Alice Cooper as the group Hollywood Vampires.

HeardB次元官网网址檚 acting career has been more modest, and her only two upcoming roles are in a small film and the upcoming B次元官网网址淎quamanB次元官网网址� sequel due out next year.

DeppB次元官网网址檚 lawyers fought to keep the case in Virginia, in part because state law provided some legal advantages compared with California, where the two reside. A judge ruled that Virginia was an acceptable forum for the case because The Washington PostB次元官网网址檚 printing presses and online servers are in the county.

Denise Lavoie, The Associated Press

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