Key people associated with the Johnny Depp vs. Amber Heard defamation trial
On Wednesday, a seven-person jury unanimously ruled in favor of actor Johnny Depp in his defamation case against his ex-wife Amber Heard.
Johnny Depp and Amber Heard’s relationship began over a decade ago and appears to have devolved into a toxic marriage. The couple divorced in 2016. They went to court over an op-ed Amber Heard wrote for The Washington Post in 2018 in which she described surviving domestic violence without naming Depp.
Johnny Depp filed a lawsuit seeking $50 million in damages. The jury unanimously determined that Heard’s against Depp could not be substantiated and that she knew her claims of abuse were false when she published her 2018 essay. When she wrote her op-ed, Heard acted with malice, according to the jury. In his defamation suit, a jury awarded Depp $10 million in compensatory damages and $5 million in punitive damages.
Heard countersued for $100 million, claiming she was only violent with Depp in self-defense or to protect her younger sister. Heard’s countersuit centered on three statements made to the Daily Mail in 2020 by Depp’s former attorney Adam Waldman, in which he called Heard’s abuse of a “hoax.”
The jury unanimously decided that Heard defamed Depp and awards him $5 million in punitive and compensatory damages. In her counterclaim, the jury also awards Heard $2 million in compensatory damages but no punitive damages.
As the defamations case seemingly comes to an end, here are the key people involved in the case:
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Camille Vasquez, Johnny Depp’s lawyer
Elaine Bredehoft, Amber Heards lawyer
Psychologist Dr. Shannon Curry
Morgan Tremaine, TMZ witness
Whitney Henriquez, Amber Heard’s sister