WASHINGTON.- The jury hearing of the defamation court case between Johnny Depp and Amber Heard, which takes place in Fairfax, near Washington DC, will resume its deliberations on Tuesday after meeting for a couple of hours on Friday after the presentation of the closing arguments.
The 58-year-old actor Johnny Depp filed a $50 million lawsuit against his ex-wife, alleging that she ruined his career and reputation after publishing a column in 2018 in the press. Depp described himself as a public figure representing domestic violence.
In turn, Heard, 36, filed a counterclaim for 100 million, pointing out that she suffered violence and abuse from her ex-husband.
In her closing statement, Elaine Bredehoft, the actress’s attorney, said Depp’s libel suit and a global humiliation campaign had made Heard’s life pure hell.
“It destroyed her life. This has consumed her. She is receiving death threats,” the attorney told the seven-member jury.
Benjamin Chew, part of Depp’s legal team, countered that while the Pirates of the Caribbean star is not a saint and has had problems with drugs and alcohol, he is not a violent abuser.
“He did not and does not deserve to have his life and legacy destroyed by a cruel lie,” he said. “We ask you, we implore you to give him back his name, his reputation, and his career,” the attorney said.
Bredefort, for his part, asked the jury to hold the actor responsible, since he never accepted responsibility for anything in his life.
“Monster”
Dozens of witnesses testified during the trial, including bodyguards, Hollywood executives, agents, entertainment industry insiders, psychiatrists, doctors, friends, and family.
Depp and Heard spent several days on the stand at the televised trial, which drew hundreds of Depp fans each day.
The jury heard video and audio recordings of the couple’s heated arguments and photographs of injuries, Heard allegedly sustained during their rocky marriage.
A finger injury Depp sustained while filming a Pirates of the Caribbean installment in Australia in March 2015 drew hours of testimony from medical experts.
The actor claimed that he cut the tip of the middle finger on his right hand when Heard threw a bottle of vodka at him. The actress herself said she did not know how the injury had occurred.
Both agreed that Depp began to scribble messages on the walls, lampshades, and mirrors with his bloody finger.
Heard testified that her ex-husband became a physical and sexually abusive monster when he used alcohol and drugs excessively and that he resisted her repeated efforts to curb his use.
The actor stated that it was brutal for him to hear the egregious and outlandish accusations of domestic abuse from his ex-wife.
“No human being is perfect, of course not, none of us, but I have never committed sexual assault or physical abuse in my life,” he said.