The trial of a defamation case filed by Hollywood star Johnny Depp against his ex-wife Amber Heard has ended after a six-week ordeal.
According to reports, entertainment attorney Mitra Ahouraian believes there is no clear winner in the case. Ahouraian was quoted as saying, “I don’t think it’s a winning lawsuit for either of them, just based on defamation, just based on is there enough of a defamatory statement that rises to the level of being malicious, so both untrue and malicious and I don’t think either case rises to that.”
She also believes that Depp is not in it for the money, but for his reputation. Depp sued Heard over an op-ed she wrote in 2018 about being a survivor of domestic violence. Heard did not name Depp in the article but it cost Depp losing his professional reputation.
In 2016, Heard filed for divorce and alleged that Depp had physically abused her during their marriage under the influence of drugs or alcohol. Depp denied the accusations and stated that Heard was “attempting to secure a premature financial resolution by alleging abuse.” Their divorce was finalised in 2017.
Read more: Depp-Heard defamation trial ends tomorrow: What’s next?
This year Johnny Depp decided to sue Amber Heard for defamation because of an op-ed she wrote in the Washington Post in 2018. In the op-ed, headlined “I spoke up against sexual violence — and faced our culture’s wrath. That has to change,” Heard claimed that she was a domestic abuse survivor. However, she did not name Depp but the actor ended up losing major filing projects after that oped. Johnny Depp’s defamation lawsuit against ex-wife Amber Heard began on April 11.
Though Heard never mentioned Depp by name in the piece, his lawyers argue that references to him, and Heard’s previous abuse allegations, are clear and have damaged his career and reputation. Heard has filed a $100 million countersuit, claiming Depp and his legal team defamed her by calling her allegations a hoax.
