US defamation trial with @amberheard and 2022 Virginia jury verdict
Reuters, AP and BBC coverage of the Fairfax County suit over the 2018 Washington Post op-ed. June 2022 jury mostly favored @johnnydepp; December 2022 settlement closed the appeal. Reported language only.
Editorial timeline of public reporting, not a legal finding.
- Washington Post op-ed by @amberheard without naming ex-husband - The Washington Post published an @amberheard op-ed stating that two years earlier she had become a public figure representing domestic abuse. It did not name @johnnydepp. The piece later became the basis of his Virginia defamation suit. I spoke up against sexual violence - and faced our culture's wrath. That has to change.
- Depp files $50 million Virginia defamation suit - CBS News reported that in March 2019 @johnnydepp sued @amberheard for about $50 million in Fairfax County, Virginia, over the Washington Post op-ed he said implied he had abused her. Johnny Depp sues Amber Heard for $50 million in defamation lawsuit
- Jury: near-total victory for @johnnydepp - Reuters reported a Virginia jury found for @johnnydepp on all three remaining defamation counts, with damages reduced to about $10.35 million under the state punitive cap. Jurors also awarded @amberheard $2 million on one counterclaim. Depp scores near-total victory in U.S. defamation case against ex-wife Heard
- Settlement: about $1 million closes appeal chapter - BBC reported @amberheard said she would settle; Depp's lawyers told the BBC about a $1 million payment he would donate to charities. Heard said the choice followed lost faith in the U.S. legal system and was not a concession. Amber Heard settles defamation case against Johnny Depp