Amber Heard Issues Official Statement Following Johnny Depp Defamation Case Verdict

On Wednesday, the jury ruled in favor of Johnny Depp in his lawsuit against his ex-wife Amber Heard. Heard and her legal team issued a statement shortly after the news broke, and they didn't hide their disappointment. Based on her words, it seems Heard will continue to maintain her innocence in the public eye.

"The disappointment I feel today is beyond words," the statement began. "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. I'm even more disappointed with what this verdict means for other women. It is a setback."

"It 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," Heard continued. "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 UK."

"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," Heard concluded. The actress will be forced to pay Depp $10.35 million in damages, though he will be expected to pay her $2 million in damages as well for her counterclaim that she was defamed during this process.

Depp sued Heard for defamation after she wrote an op-ed for The Washington Post in 2018. The article did not name Depp, but it made thinly-veiled references to him and it claimed that he was abusive during his brief marriage to Heard. Depp's lawsuit hinged on his claim that he was not abusive to Heard, but that she instead was abusive to him. Both sides provided graphic evidence against one another in this regard.

Depp was seeking $50 million in damages in this case, while Heard's counterclaim asked for $100 million. While neither one got what they wanted, it seems clear that Depp is counting this as a victory and Heard is counting it as a loss. As many commentators have pointed out, the public reputations of both stars seem to be tattered after this whole experience. Depp has yet to issue a public statement like Heard's.