A US jury has ruled that Amber Heard defamed ex-husband Johnny Depp in an article claiming she was a victim of domestic abuse. The jury awarded compensatory and punitive damages of $15m (£12m) to Mr Depp, who denied abusing Ms Heard.

Ms Heard, 36, won one of three countersuits against Mr Depp, 58, and was awarded $2 million in damages. The Hollywood stars who divorced in 2017 have presented conflicting versions of their doomed relationship at trial.
For more than six weeks, a court in Fairfax, Virginia, has heard trivial details of Mr Depp and Ms Hurd’s malicious marriage and its tragic end.

After nearly two days of deliberation, jurors found on Wednesday that Ms Heard’s statements about her marriage were “false” and that she acted with “actual malice”. But they also found that when Depp’s lawyers stated to the Daily Mail in 2020 calling her abuse allegations a hoax, he defamed Ms Heard.

A Depp spokesman said Depp did not appear in court because of “previously arranged work commitments”. The actor, who is said to be watching in the UK, has given three surprise concerts with his friend, British musician Jeff Baker since the jury’s deliberations began on Friday.

On the eve of the sentencing, Mr Depp received a standing ovation after performing with Mr Baker at London’s Royal Albert Hall.

Fairfax County Circuit Court Judge Penney Azcarate reduced the punitive damages awarded to Depp to $350,000, the statutory cap in Virginia. That puts his total loss at $10.4 million. Ms Heard was not awarded any punitive damages.

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The actress, looking dismayed as the verdict was read, said that she was “heartbroken.” She argued that the jury ignored the evidence in her favour. A spokeswoman for Ms Heard said she planned to appeal the ruling.