Jury finds both Johnny Depp and Amber Heard liable for defaming each other and awards millions to both

• Jurors found both Johnny Depp and Amber Heard liable for defamation.
• They awarded Depp $15 million in damages and Heard $2 million.

Jurors found both Johnny Depp and Amber Heard liable for defamation against each other in a verdict reached Wednesday.

They awarded Depp $15 million in damages, finding that Heard defamed him when she described herself as a victim of domestic violence in a 2018 Washington Post op-ed. The jury found that Heard's statements were false and made with "actual malice" against her ex-husband. It decided on $10 million in compensatory damages and another $5 million in punitive damages. Judge Penney Azcarate, who is overseeing the case, lowered the punitive damages to $350,000, in accordance with Virginia law.

The jury also found Depp liable for defamation against Heard when one of his attorneys claimed her allegations of sexual abuse were a "hoax." They awarded Heard $2 million in compensatory damages and $0 in punitive damages.

Depp brought the lawsuit against Heard in 2019, alleging she defamed him by describing herself in a December 2018 Washington Post op-ed as a victim of domestic abuse. Depp alleged that it was Heard who was the real abuser in their relationship. He asked for $50 million in damages at the time. Heard countersued, alleging Depp beat her in about a dozen instances, often while he used drugs or alcohol. She asked for $100 million in damages.

The jurors reached a verdict on Wednesday afternoon after six weeks of trial testimony and less than three days of deliberation. They initially didn't fill out the sections on the verdict form specifying damages, which led Azcarate to send them back into the deliberation room to properly fill out the jury form. She said the damages must be "at least $1 and up to whatever you feel the damages should be."

The jury reemerged after only a few minutes with their final verdict.

In court, Heard appeared crestfallen as the verdict was read. In a statement, she called the jury decision "a setback" to "a time when a woman who spoke up and spoke out could be publicly shamed and humiliated."

"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," she said.

Depp, in his own statement following the verdict, said the goal of bringing the case was "to reveal the truth, regardless of the outcome."

"The jury gave me my life back. I am truly humbled," he said. "My decision to pursue this case, knowing very well the height of the legal hurdles that I would be facing and the inevitable, worldwide spectacle into my life, was only made after considerable thought."

Depp, who is playing concerts with Jeff Beck in Europe, was not present in court for the verdict, which a spokesperson for Heard said indicated a "lack of seriousness."

"Due to previously scheduled work commitments made before the trial, Mr. Depp will not be physically present for today's 3pm verdict and will be watching from the United Kingdom," a spokesperson for Depp told Insider earlier Wednesday.

Jurors watched both Depp and Heard present their cases

Over the course of six weeks, jurors in the Fairfax County, Virginia, courtroom heard testimony from each side, taking in each party's account of how much the other used drugs and alcohol and was prone to bouts of violence.

They also heard from psychologists who disputed each other's assessments about Heard's psychological state, doctors who debated whether Heard was responsible for Depp losing the tip of his finger, and digital-forensic experts who theorized whether it was possible to know whether photos of Heard appearing to have bruises were doctored.

The trial offered a rare insight into the life of high-profile celebrities. Depp has blamed Heard for the ruin inflicted upon his career. Once the star of billion-dollar franchises like "Pirates of the Caribbean," "Alice in Wonderland," and the "Harry Potter" spinoff "Fantastic Beasts," he has seen his major roles dry up.

Heard's lawyers said Depp had no one but himself to blame for losing out on a sixth "Pirates" movie, which they said could be attributed to an earlier court loss over domestic-abuse claims in the United Kingdom, as well as a reputation for lateness on film sets and alcohol use.

Heard's star has risen in recent years thanks to her roles in "Justice League" and "Aquaman," as well as in a string of independent movies. But since her troubles with Depp began, which ended in divorce in 2016, her career has suffered, she said. She testified that she had post-traumatic stress disorder and struggled to avoid triggers while filming combat scenes. She is also subject to an unflagging blast of online harassment from Depp's fans, often manifesting in the form of death threats to her and her 1-year-old child. Heard also alleged Depp tried to get her fired from future "Aquaman" and "Justice League" films.

Depp and Heard each spent several days on the stand telling their respective sides of the story about their tumultuous courtship and marriage. Depp's testimony focused on his difficult childhood and his struggle with drugs and alcohol — but he maintained that he never physically abused Heard. Heard, meanwhile, spoke about falling for Depp and said she found it hard to let go of their connection when he started to abuse her.

Depp may have selected Virginia, the site of The Washington Post's servers, as a venue because of its relative friendliness to libel plaintiffs. Azcarate permitted the case to sprawl over six weeks on livestreamed video, giving Depp the opportunity to make his case to the public as well as the jury.

The trial proved that Depp had not lost his star power. Lines to get into the courtroom would start forming in the early hours every morning, and each day saw dozens crowded outside the courthouse to wave to Depp as he entered and exited the courthouse. Meanwhile, Heard became the center of a social-media firestorm of negative comments and elicited boos from the crowd outside the courthouse.

This story is breaking and will be updated.