The Washington Post has added an editor’s note to the Amber Heard’s op-ed about surviving domestic abuse after the verdict in the case. The piece was published in December 2018. The jury awarded Depp $15 million in damages, but it was reduced to $10.35 million due to state law in Virginia. According to the reports, Heard plans to appeal the verdict.
An editor’s note was added to the digital copy of Heard’s op-ed on Thursday. It read, “In 2019, Johnny Depp sued Amber Heard for defamation arising out of this 2018 op-ed. On June 1, 2022, following a trial in Fairfax County, Va. Circuit Court, a jury found Heard liable on three counts for the following statements, which Depp claimed were false and defamatory.”
Three statements in Heard’s 2018 op-ed are defamatory
The three statements in Heard’s 2018 op-ed are:
- (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.’
Depp’s libel claim against British newspaper The Sun, wherein he filed a case against them for branding him a “wife-beater,” was dismissed in November 2020. A London judge accepted the outlet’s assertions as “substantially true” after Heard spoke in support of the claims. Depp’s attempt to get the decision overturned was rejected in March 2021. Later on, Depp sued Amber Heard and not the newspaper.
Legal analyst Emily D. Baker said, “Because this case is so watched and commented on, I think the op-ed is still needed for context. I appreciate that they put up the notice rather than take the op-ed down. And I appreciate that they included, with specificity, exactly the statements that were found to be defamatory.” She further added, “It would have been easier to just take it down and say nothing. But I appreciate they’re saying, ‘Anyone who’s reading this, this is what happened.’ ”
After the verdict, Depp had given out a statement speaking about how the last 6 years had been a wreck due to the false allegations. He had also thanked the jury for giving his life back. Meanwhile, Amber Heard was disappointed with the verdict. Heard said that the verdict was a “setback”.