What led to the atrocious fallback of Hollywood’s star couple? Here is everything about Johnny Depp vs. Amber Heard conflict timeline.
After six long weeks of allegations, evidences and revelations, the U.S. jury has finally reached a verdict. Johnny Depp has won the defamation lawsuit against ex-wife Amber Heard for accusing him of domestic violence during their marriage.
The 58 years old Hollywood actor won $15 million in punitive and compensatory damages after the Fairfax County Circuit court finally closed the case that began on April 11.
36 years old Amber Heard, however, won $2 million in compensatory damages for winning one out of three counter-claims. So what was the Johnny Depp and Amber Heard defamation trial all about and what does the verdict mean? Here is the complete timeline:
Entire timeline of Johnny Depp vs. Amber Heard defamation trial — A brief about Depp and Heard’s dating and marriage timeline
The Hollywood actors who occupied all the headlines recently for their tumultuous marriage, met in 2009. Depp and Heard became friends at the set of comedy movie The Rum Diary and began dating in 2012.
This was the year when Johnny Depp ended his 14 years long marriage with Vanessa Paradis.
After 6 years of complicated dating, the two stars tied knots in Feb 2015 in an intimate ceremony in Los Angeles. Complicated because in 2013, 2 years before getting married, Amber Heard claimed that Depp inflicted physical violence on her. According to the actress, he slapped her thrice for joking about a tattoo on his arm.
The allegations were never proved and The Tourist actor denied it.
Within a year of marriage, Amber Heard filed for divorce in 2016 stating verbal and physical abuse as the reason. After a year of restraining order for Depp, the couple officially got divorced in 2017.
Major events from the defamation trail in order
2019
The defamation lawsuit that has taken global media by storm was filed in 2019. Amber Heard wrote an op-ed for The Washington Post in 2018, opening up about her experience with domestic violence. She never named Depp and wrote,
I became a public figure representing domestic abuse, and I felt the full force of our culture’s wrath for women who speak out.
Following the op-ed, Johnny Depp filed defamation lawsuit worth $50 million against Heard. He also clarified that she was not a victim, in fact, the offender of domestic violence in the marriage.
2020
Johnny Depp further sued the British newspaper The Sun and its executive editor Dan Wootton for calling him “wife beater.”
Video: Johnny Depp Loses ‘Wife Beater’ Libel Case in England
This was when Depp claimed that Heard was, in fact, in an affair with Elon Musk and James Franco. He further revealed that Amber Heard was violent in the marriage.
However, the jury sided with the newspaper.
Due to this verdict, Disney canceled the contract with Johnny Depp for “Fantastic Beasts” where he was going to play Grindelwald.
2021
Following the turn of events, Amber Heard sued back Johnny Depp, claiming $100 million in damages. Thereafter, the trial began in April 2022 that ended with Depp’s victory.
What does the verdict of the jury mean in Johnny Depp vs Amber Heard trial?
It is important to understand the literal meaning of US jury’s final verdict. The final conclusion does not identify Johnny Depp as the victim and Amber Heard as the abuser. It only concludes that both have been defamed, however, the intensity of the defamation varies.
This is why Johnny Depp is awarded in both compensation and punitive damages ($15 million). Amber Heard, however, has only awarded in compensation damages ($2 million).
Following are the statements released by the Hollywood actors after the verdict-
