Johnny Depp vs. Amber Heard: Final Verdict Explained - Who Won the Case?

Netflix's new documentary series, "Depp v. Heard," explores the high-profile court case between Johnny Depp and Amber Heard over a 2018 op-ed.

The highly publicized court case between Johnny Depp and Amber Heard, which captivated the internet, is now being depicted in a new Netflix series called Depp v. Heard. The documentary series delves into the dispute between the former celebrity couple over a 2018 op-ed written by Heard. In the final verdict, Depp won the defamation suit, with the jury unanimously concluding that there was insufficient evidence to prove that Depp had domestically abused Heard. However, Heard filed a counterclaim against Depp, alleging defamation. She was awarded $2 million in compensatory damages but no punitive damages for inaccurate and defamatory claims made against her. Ultimately, both parties settled after the verdict, with Heard paying $1 million split between charities.

The three-part docuseries on Netflix provides a comprehensive look into the highly-documented court case that took social media by storm in the spring of 2022. The dispute between Johnny Depp and Amber Heard gained international attention due to their conflicting accounts of events surrounding a 2018 op-ed written by Heard for The Washington Post. Depp sued Heard in 2019, claiming defamation based on her portrayal of him in the article. Depp alleged that Heard wrote the piece to generate a positive public image for herself and that she was the perpetrator of domestic violence. These claims and counterclaims were extensively covered during their defamation hearing and became a hot topic on social media platforms like TikTok.

The final verdict in Depp v. Heard saw Depp being awarded $10 million in compensatory damages out of his $50 million claim. He also received $5 million in punitive damages, which was capped at $350,000 due to the state limit in Virginia, where the trial took place. The jury unanimously sided with Depp, concluding that there was insufficient evidence to prove that he had domestically abused Heard. They determined that Heard intentionally wrote the 2018 op-ed with the intention of defaming Depp. Heard was found liable for three counts of defamation against Depp, including the title of the article itself.

Amber Heard filed a countersuit against Depp's claims of libel in 2021, which resulted in her being awarded monetary compensation as well. Heard's counterclaim alleged that one of Depp's lawyers defamed her by accusing her of staging an unsafe environment to substantiate her claims of domestic violence. The jury found these claims to be inaccurate and defamatory, resulting in Heard being awarded $2 million in compensatory damages but no punitive damages.

Despite the significant monetary awards on both sides, Depp and Heard were able to settle after the final verdict. Heard paid a total of $1 million to Depp, which he split between five charities. The settlement was not an admission of guilt or concession on Heard's part. She publicly announced the settlement on her Instagram account, expressing her loss of faith in the American legal system and the impact the trial had on her life.

The Depp v. Heard case gained widespread attention and was dubbed a media circus due to the excessive press coverage it received. With a high-profile celebrity like Depp involved, it attracted a large audience initially. However, the sensationalized coverage of the trial led to a divide among viewers and followers on social media. The trial became a cultural phenomenon, with TikTok users offering their own commentary and making it culturally relevant. The case has now come full circle with its depiction in the Netflix series and the Tubi original movie, Hot Take: The Depp/Heard Trial. The trial's popularity on TikTok allowed millions to follow along and contribute to the phenomenon depicted in the Netflix series.