Law&Crime Sidebar - VERDICT: Johnny Depp Wins Defamation Case Against Amber Heard

Episode Date: June 2, 2022

The verdict of the Johnny Depp v. Amber Heard trial is in! Law&Crime's Angenette Levy has the lowdown on the outcome. Johnny Depp wins every defamation claim against ex-wife Amber Heard. The jury awards him $15M in damages. Amber Heard wins one claim.READ FULL TRIAL RECAPS:lawandcrime.comSUBSCRIBE TO OUR OTHER PODCASTS:Court JunkieThey Walk Among AmericaCoptales and CocktailsSpeaking FreelyLAW&CRIME NETWORK SOCIAL MEDIA:Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lawandcrime/Twitter: https://twitter.com/LawCrimeNetworkFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/lawandcrimeTwitch: https://www.twitch.tv/lawandcrimenetworkTikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@lawandcrimeSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

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will keep you on the edge of your seat. Don't let your fears take hold of you as you dive into this addictive series. Love thrillers with a paranormal twist? The entire Oracle trilogy is available on Audible. Listen now on Audible. In civil case number CL 2019 29-211, Mr. Depp's claim against Ms. heard. One, as to the statement appearing in the online op-ed entitled Amber Heard, I spoke up against sexual violence and faced our culture's wrath. That has to change. In the Washington Post's online edition, quote, I spoke up against sexual violence and faced our culture's wrath. That has to change, end quote. Do you find that Mr. Depp has proven all the elements of defamation? Answer. Sir, yes. Johnny Depp runs the table. The jury finding Amber Heard defamed him on every statement in question in her 2018 Washington Post op-ed. The jury awarding debt damages both compensatory and punitive. As against Amber Heard, we the jury award compensatory damages in the amount of $10 million. As against Amber Heard, we the jury award punitive damages in the amount of $10 million. As against Amber Heard, we the jury award punitive damages in the

amount of five million dollars in civil case number c l 2019 2911 miss herds claim against mr depp i'm an janet levy and welcome to this special breaking news edition of law and crime's sidebar podcast on the verdict in favor of johnny dep the jury found that amber heard defamed Depp with that Washington Post op-ed, meaning they believe she lied and made up things that she said in that op-ed and that she did it to hurt him with actual malice. Heard, meanwhile, one on one of her claims involving a statement Depp's lawyer Adam Waldman made to the Daily Mail in defense of Depp in 2020. As to this statement, appearing in the April 27th, 2020, online edition of the Daily Mail.

Quote, quite simply, this was an ambush, a hoax. They set Mr. Depp up by calling the cops, but the first attempt did not do the trick. The officers came to the penhouses, thoroughly searched and interviewed, and left after seeing no damage to face or property. So Amber and her friends spilled a little wine and rough the place up, got their story straight under the direction of a lawyer and publicist and then placed a second call to 911." End quote. Do you find that Ms. Hurd has proven all the elements of defamation? Answer, yes.

Has Ms. Hurd proven by a greater weight of the evidence that, question, Mr. Waldman, while acting as an agent for Mr. Depp, made or publish the statement, answer yes. Question, the statement was about Ms. Hurd. Answer, yes. Question, the statement was seen by someone other than Ms. Heard. Answer, yes. Question, the statement was false.

Answer, yes. Do you find that Ms. Heard has proven, by clear and convincing evidence, that the statement by Mr. Waldman was made with actual malice? Answer, yes. The jury awarded Heard $2 million in compensatory damages and zero punitive damages, zero dollars. It was interesting because when we first heard the verdict had been reached and that was at 129 Eastern time, the verdict would be read at 3 p.m. Eastern. We had a feeling it was a good sign for Depp. We went into the courthouse and at three, the jurors came out, but Judge Asked Karate sent

them back to the deliberation room because they had not awarded damages, which signaled to everyone that defamation had been found by the jury to have occurred. Depp wasn't at the courthouse. His team said he had previously scheduled work engagements, which are concerts with legendary guitarist Jeff Beck. Depp watched the verdict being read from the UK. Heard, meanwhile, arrived at the courthouse and sat with her lawyers as those verdicts were read. The jurors mostly looked at the judge as the verdicts were read. Depp's lawyers, Camille Vasquez, and Ben Chu made brief statements outside of the courthouse. That the claims against Johnny Depp are defamatory and unsupported by any evidence.

We are grateful, so grateful to the jury for their careful deliberation to the judge and the court staff who have devoted an enormous amount of time and resources towards this case. We were honored, truly honored, to assist Mr. Depp in ensuring that his case was fairly considered throughout the trial. We are also most pleased that the trial has resonated for so many people in the public who value truth and justice. Now that the jury has reached its conclusive verdict, it's time to turn the page and look to the future. Depp was at a tavern in the U.K. where people congratulated him by shaking his hand. He issued a statement that reads in part, six years ago, my life, the life of my children, the lives of those closest to me, and also the the lives of the people who for many, many years have supported and believed in me were forever

changed, all in the blink of an eye. False, very serious, and criminal allegations were levied at me via the media, which triggered an endless barrage of hateful content, although no charges were ever brought against me. It had already traveled around the world twice within a nanosecond, and it had a seismic impact on my life and my career. And six years later, the jury gave me my life back. I am truly humbled. I wish to acknowledge the noble work of the judge, the jurors, the court staff, and the sheriffs who have sacrificed their own time to get to this point, and to my diligent and unwavering legal team who did an extraordinary job in helping me to share the truth. The best is yet to come, and a new chapter has finally begun. Truth never perishes.

For her part, Hurd issued a statement that reads, The disappointment I feel today is beyond words. 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. 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 attorney succeeded in getting the jury to overlook the key issue of freedom of speech and ignore evidence that was so conclusive that we had won in the UK.

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. I am not surprised at all by this verdict. I'm going to tell you. The evidence strongly favored Johnny Depp. The evidence of sexual assault that heard claimed simply wasn't there. particularly about her claim of the bottle rape in Australia. This was a big day for Johnny Depp and for the truth. I'm going to have more on the verdict on the next edition of Sidebar.

I'm Annionette Levy from the Fairfax County Courthouse. Thanks so much for listening. You can find us on Apple, Spotify, and wherever else you get your podcasts, I will see you next time. You can binge all episodes of this law and crime series ad free right now on Wondery Plus. Join Wondery Plus in the Wondery app, Apple Podcasts, or Spotify.