Jurors start deliberations in Depp, Heard defamation case

After a six-week trial containing searing reciprocal charges of domestic abuse, a jury began deliberations in the defamation case between Johnny Depp and his ex-wife Amber Heard on Friday.

After lawyers for both sides made closing arguments, the seven-person jury retired to consider a judgment in the high-profile case hearing in Fairfax, Virginia, near the US capital.

Elaine Bredehoft, an attorney for Heard, said the defamation suit filed against the “Aquaman” star by Depp and a campaign of “global humiliation” has made her life “pure hell.”

“It has destroyed her life. This has consumed her. She’s getting death threats,” Bredehoft told the jury.

Benjamin Chew, one of Depp’s lawyers, countered that while the 58-year-old “Pirates of the Caribbean” star may not be a “saint” and has struggled with drugs and alcohol “he is not a violent abuser.”

“He did not and does not deserve to have his life, his legacy destroyed by a vicious lie,” Chew said. “Miss Heard’s attempt to paint herself as a heroic survivor, an innocent survivor, and Mr Depp as a terrifying abuser are utterly false.

“We ask you, we implore you to give him his name, his reputation and his career back,” he told the jury.

Bredehoft said any damage to Depp’s career was self-inflicted.

“Hold this man responsible,” she told the jury. “He has never accepted responsibility for anything in his life.

“He’s blamed everybody in the world — his agent, his manager, his lawyer, Amber, his friends, everybody.”

Depp’s lawyer Chew meanwhile referenced the #Metoo movement but said “it’s for true survivors of abuse, not Miss Heard.”

“Nobody has come out of the woodwork to say ‘me too.’ This is the unique and singular ‘me too’ case where there’s not a single ‘me too.'”

Camille Vasquez, another of Depp’s attorneys, told the jury the evidence has “shown that Miss Heard is the abuser.”

“She was violent, she was abusive and she was cruel,” Vasquez said.

– ‘Monster’ –

During the trial, dozens of witnesses, including bodyguards, Hollywood executives, agents, entertainment business specialists, doctors, friends, and family, testified.

Hundreds of supporters of the “Pirates” actor attended the broadcast trial, which was joined by a #JusticeForJohnnyDepp social media campaign. Depp and Heard each spent days on the witness stand throughout the televised trial.

The jury was shown images of injuries purportedly sustained by Heard during their tumultuous relationship, as well as video and audio recordings of their intense, profanity-laced disputes.

A finger injury sustained by Depp while filming an installment of “Pirates” in Australia in March 2015 was the subject of hours of evidence from medical specialists.

When Heard threw a vodka bottle at Depp, he claimed the tip of a finger was severed. Heard stated that she had no idea how the injury happened.

Both agreed that Depp used the bloodied digit to scrawl inscriptions on walls, lampshades, and mirrors.

Heard claimed Depp would turn into a physically and sexually abusive “monster” during booze and drug-fueled binges, and that he ignored her repeated attempts to stop him.

Depp said that Heard was the one who was frequently violent, and that listening to “outlandish” allegations of domestic abuse levelled against him was “brutal.”

“No human being is perfect, certainly not, none of us, but I have never in my life committed sexual battery, physical abuse,” he said.

– Damaged Hollywood careers –

Heard, who was married to Depp from 2015 to 2017, obtained a restraining order against him in May 2016, citing domestic violence.

Depp, a three-time Oscar nominee, filed a libel suit in London against the British tabloid The Sun for calling him a “wife-beater.” He lost that case in November 2020.

Both sides have alleged that their Hollywood careers have been harmed.

Heard’s legal team produced an entertainment industry expert who believed Heard has lost $45-50 million in film and television roles and endorsements.

According to a source close to Depp’s camp, the actor has lost millions as a result of the allegations, including a potential $22.5 million paycheck for the sixth film of “Pirates of the Caribbean.”