Following the long-awaited verdict from the Johnny Depp and Amber Heard trial, the Washington Post has added a note to the article written by Heard that sparked the lawsuit.
The online version of the article previously written by Heard in 2018 now references the defamation trial and the outcome.
This week, the trial concluded that the article and Heard’s actions against Depp were defamatory, and the actor has been ordered to pay $10.35 million in damages.
The fees comprise of $10 million in compensatory damages and $5 million in punitive damages. However, due to state law capping punitive damages at $350,000, Depp’s final sum will be $10.35 million.
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Since the jury verdict, the Washington Post article will now also display an addendum detailing how a Virginia jury on Tuesday found Heard liable on three counts stemming from her allegations of abuse, 'which Depp claimed were false and defamatory'.
The note also lists the three excerpts from Heard’s essay which the jury deemed to be defamatory
The statements are as follows:
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(1) "I spoke up against sexual violence — and faced our culture’s wrath. That has to change.”
(2) "Then two years ago, I became a public figure representing domestic abuse, and I felt the full force of our culture’s wrath for women who speak out.”
(3) “I had the rare vantage point of seeing, in real time, how institutions protect men accused of abuse.”
During the trial it was also revealed that Heard did not write the essay herself. Instead, it was ghost written by the American Civil Liberties Union on behalf of Heard. Heard acted as 'ambassador on women’s rights' at the nonprofit organisation.
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Since the case concluded, both parties have spoken out. Heard posted to her Instagram: “The disappointment I feel today is beyond words.”
"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."
The 36-year-old said she is even more disappointed in 'what this verdict means for women,' calling it a 'setback'.
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Depp also posted to his Instagram after the verdict, saying that the jury 'gave me my life back'.
Speaking in a written post on his social media account, he wrote: “Six years ago, my life, the life of my children, the lives of those closest to me, and also, the lives of the people, who for many, many years have supported and believed in me were forever changed. All in the blink of an eye.”
Depp continued that the media threw 'false, very serious and criminal allegations' at him, triggering an 'endless barrage of hateful content'.
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He continued: "It had already traveled around the world twice within a nanosecond and it had a seismic impact on my life and my career.
"And six years later, the jury gave me my life back. I am truly humbled."
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Topics: Celebrity, Johnny Depp, Amber Heard
Niamh Spence