Amber Heard Is 'Heartbroken' After Losing To Johnny Depp & Called It A 'Setback' For Women
"The mountain of evidence still was not enough."
Amber Heard did not break down in tears when she learned that she lost to Johnny Depp in court on Wednesday, but she later said she is disappointed "beyond words" by the result.
In a statement released shortly after the jury sided with Depp on all counts in his defamation case against her, Heard described the verdict as a "setback" for women who face domestic violence.
She also said she feels "heartbroken that the mountain of evidence still was not enough to stand up to the disproportionate power, influence, and sway of my ex-husband."
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She added that the verdict "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 attorneys succeeded in getting the jury to overlook the key issue of Freedom of Speech and ignore evidence that was so conclusive that we won in the U.K.," she said.
“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.”
The jury agreed with Depp's argument that Heard lied and defamed him when she published a Washington Post op-ed in which she claimed to be a victim of domestic abuse. Depp was awarded $15 million in compensatory and punitive damages in the case.
The jury also largely ruled against Heard, and only agreed with one of her claims of defamation - a count in which Depp's lawyer claimed that she and her friends staged a scene and then called 911. Heard was awarded $2 million for that, although she can still appeal the details of the case.
Heard had originally published her op-ed amid the #MeToo movement in Hollywood, and has maintained that Depp abused her - something he denies.
The actors dated for several years and were briefly married from 2015-2016. They each accused each other of abuse during that time, and described their claims in brutal detail during the six-week trial.