Jury awards $15 mn in damages to Johnnie Depp over Heard defamation

A US jury on Wednesday found both Johnny Depp and his ex-wife Amber Heard liable for defamation following an intense trial riding on bitterly contested allegations of domestic abuse.

The seven-member jury in Virginia awarded Depp $15 million in damages after finding that a 2018 article penned by Heard on the "sexual violence" she had suffered was defamatory to Depp.

The jury also found that Heard was defamed by statements made by Depp's lawyer, Adam Waldman, who told the Daily Mail that her abuse claims were a "hoax," and awarded her $2 million in damages.

The seven-person Virginia jury deliberated for about 13 hours over three days in Fairfax County Circuit Court near the US capital.

Heard was present in the courtroom for the verdict but Depp has been in England for the past few days.

US actress Amber Heard.

Closing arguments in the case were held on Friday at the end of a six-week trial riding on claims and counterclaims of domestic abuse between the Hollywood celebrities.

The 58-year-old Depp filed suit against Heard over an op-ed she wrote for The Washington Post in December 2018 in which she described herself as a "public figure representing domestic abuse."

The Texas-born...