- The Virginia jury has been deliberating for about 13 hours over three days.
- The verdict will be read out at 3:00 p.m., according to the court.
- Depp, who has been in England for the past few days, was not expected to be present.
A jury rendered a decision On Wednesday in the high-profile defamation case involving “Pirates of the Caribbean” star Johnny Depp and his ex-wife Amber Heard.
The seven-person Virginia jury has been deliberating in Fairfax County Circuit Court near the US capital for about 13 hours over three days.
The verdict will be read out at 3:00 p.m., according to the court (1900 GMT).
A spokesperson for Heard said she was making her way to the courthouse after the jury reached its verdict. Depp, who has been in England for the past few days, was not expected to be present according to ABC News.
Closing arguments in the case were held on Friday at the end of a six-week trial riding on claims and counterclaims of domestic abuse between the Hollywood celebrities.
Read more: Johnny Depp has taken enough of my voice,’ Amber Heard claims
The 58-year-old Depp filed suit against Heard over an op-ed she wrote for The Washington Post in December 2018 in which she described herself as a “public figure representing domestic abuse.”
Both needed to prove the statements were defamatory, and to win compensatory or punitive damages, the jury needed to find they were made with actual malice — with the knowledge that they were false or with “reckless disregard” for whether they were false or not.
“Your presence shows where your priorities are,” Heard’s spokesperson said in a statement.
“Johnny Depp plays guitar in the UK while Amber Heard waits for a verdict in Virginia. Depp is taking his snickering and lack of seriousness on tour.”
Dozens of witnesses testified during the trial, including bodyguards, Hollywood executives, agents, entertainment industry experts, doctors, friends and relatives.
Depp and Heard each spent days on the witness stand during the televised trial, which was attended by hundreds of fans of the “Pirates” star and accompanied by a #JusticeForJohnnyDepp campaign on social media.
Video and audio recordings of heated, profanity-laced arguments between the couple were played for the jury, which was also shown photographs of injuries allegedly suffered by Heard during their volatile relationship.
Hours of testimony were devoted to a grisly finger injury that Depp suffered while filming an installment of “Pirates” in Australia in March 2015.
Depp claimed the tip of a finger was severed when Heard threw a vodka bottle at him. Heard said she did not know how the injury occurred.
Both agreed that Depp went on to scrawl messages on walls, lampshades and mirrors using the bloody digit.
Heard said Depp would become a physically and sexually abusive “monster” during alcohol- and drug-fueled binges and resisted her repeated efforts to curb his drinking and drug use.
Depp testified that it was Heard who was frequently violent and said it has been “brutal” to listen to “outlandish” accusations of domestic abuse made against him.
“No human being is perfect, certainly not, none of us, but I have never in my life committed sexual battery, physical abuse,” he said.
In May 2016, Heard, who was married to Depp from 2015 to 2017, obtained a restraining order against him citing domestic violence.
Depp, a three-time Oscar nominee, sued the British tabloid The Sun in London for libel for calling him a “wife-beater.” In November 2020, he lost that case.
Both parties have claimed that their Hollywood careers have been harmed.
Read more: What are the possible outcomes of the defamation trial in the Johnny Depp-Amber Heard case?
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