Johnny Depp Didn't Get The Full $50M He Wanted From Amber Heard & Here's How It Worked Out
She got a small win out of it too.
Johnny Depp may have won his high-profile defamation case against ex-wife Amber Heard, but he didn't quite get everything he asked for.
The jury ruled on Wednesday that Heard lied and defamed Depp when she said she was a victim of "domestic abuse" in a 2018 Washington Post op-ed. It also largely ruled against her counter-suit, although it did agree in once case that Depp's lawyer went over the top by describing her claims as a hoax.
In the end, the jury sided with Depp on all of his claims but did not give him the $50 million he asked for. Instead, it awarded him $10 million in compensatory damages (i.e. payback for damage caused) and $5 million in punitive damages (i.e. just to punish Heard).
However, the judge knocked that $5 million down to $350,000, which is the maximum allowed in Virginia.
Meanwhile, the jury awarded Heard $2 million in compensatory damages for the one defamation count that it agreed with, but that's well shy of the $100 million she wanted.
Ultimately, Heard will owe Depp $8.35 million, although she can still appeal the details of the ruling. There are also questions about how she'll pay for it.
Heard previously admitted during the trial that she did not follow through on a promise to donate half of her divorce settlement - about $3.5 million - to the ACLU.
The high-profile case played out live online for six weeks, and involved claims of abuse on both sides.
The court heart claims about a poop in Depp's bed, Depp's severed finger, accusations that Depp sexually assaulted Heard with a bottle and that he would often attack her while using drugs and alcohol.
Heard was in the courtroom for Wednesday's verdict, but Depp was not.
"The disappointment I feel today is beyond words," Heard said in a statement after the verdict dropped. "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."
Depp fans applauded the verdict and cheered his lawyers when they emerged from court on Wednesday. He also celebrated by releasing a statement of his own.
"The jury gave me my life back," he said.