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Johnny Depp and Amber Heard finally learned their fate Wednesday following a six-week blockbuster defamation trial that heard bombshell testimony including claims of abuse, drug use, and violence from both parties as well as dozens of witnesses.
Jurors in the case found in favor of Depp after deliberating for less than three days, awarding him a total of $15million in his claim.
Heard, meanwhile, scored a small victory as she was awarded $2million in compensatory damages, but $0 in punitive damages.
But even with the jury’s decision, it’s clear that the high-profile trial itself – which captivated viewers and social media users throughout its entirety – will have an undeniable impact on both of the feuding exes’ careers regardless of the verdict.
The dramatic saga began when Depp, 58, filed a $50million defamation claim over a 2018 op-ed Heard wrote for The Washington Post, in which she appeared to reference him when she detailed overcoming domestic abuse and violence.
The Pirates of the Caribbean star claimed his ex-wife defamed him in the op-ed, which led him to lose movie roles and other Hollywood jobs. Heard in turn, countersued for $100million, claiming she was falsely painted as a liar by Depp’s camp.
But even before jurors sided with Depp, the Hollywood star had already won in the court of public opinion.
As both parties squared off in court, what resulted was something of a media circus, with Depp’s supporters – as well as an overwhelming amount of the general public – siding with the actor and turning against Heard.
Over six weeks at the court in Fairfax, Virginia, Depp called 38 witnesses while Heard called 24. Depp and Heard met on the set of the 2011 movie The Rum Diary, turning up on the red carpet together for its London premiere in 2011
The dramatic scenes during the trial – which was livestreamed to the public – would eventually spill outside of court, with fans launching social media campaigns, creating memes, and even fueling speculation of a courtroom love affair.
Heard scored a small victory compared to her ex-husband Wednesday as she was awarded $2million in compensatory damages and $0 in punitive damages.
Depp’s supporters launched a petition calling for Warner Bros to drop Heard from the role of Queen Mera in upcoming superhero film Aquaman 2, which topped 4.4 million signatures even as the jury deliberated.
The petition alleges that Heard has been ‘exposed as a domestic abuser by Johnny Depp’ during the multimillion-dollar court battle.
The case even saw rumors of a budding romance between Depp and his lawyer circulate after a video of the ‘Pirates of the Caribbean’ star helping attorney Camille Vasquez untangle her iPhone charger went viral on TikTok.
Vasquez also won a massive online following after ‘grilling’ Heard, 36, during cross-examination where Vasquez got Heard to admit she didn’t donate her full $7million divorce settlement to charity despite previously claiming to have done so
The ‘intense’ chemistry and and touchy-feely relationship between Depp and Vasquez in the courtroom continued even after social media speculation, adding a frisson of sexual tension to the bitter trial.
Body language experts even weighed in, saying Depp and 37-year-old Vasquez’s ‘flirtatious’ behavior might have just be a tactic to try and boost the actor’s case.
But contrary to feverish speculation, Vasquez has been in a serious relationship with a British realtor for several months, according to TMZ.
The California native remained tight-lipped about her private life away from the courtroom, thought, having revealed nothing to the media and with no social media presence to speak of.
Depp, 58, and 37-year-old Vasquez’ ‘flirtatious’ behavior might just be a tactic to try and boost the actor’s case, a body language expert said, but fans speculate a more romantic connection
As Vasquez was leaving the courthouse earlier this month, a TMZ reporter asked her about the rumored relationship with Depp once and for all.
‘The people want to know, are you dating Johnny Depp? It’s all over the internet. Can you set the record straight, yes or no?’ he said.
However, the California litigator declined to answer. Instead, she just laughed, brushed her hair aside and waved to the throngs of fans gathered outside.
Fans started to wonder if romantic feelings had developed between Depp and Vasquez in recent weeks, after they noticed a slew of flirty interactions between the two – including whispering in each other’s ears, giggling together, and sharing coy smirks with one another.
Body language expert Judi James claimed that Depp and his firebrand lawyer Camille Vasquez’s ‘intense’ chemistry in court is all a ploy to ‘destroy’ Heard’s case – comparing their intimate courtroom display to Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet’s characters in The Titanic.
James said that Vasquez’s ‘flirtatious’ behavior is likely a very conscious tactic to try and boost her client’s case, explaining that the romantic gestures between the two are helping Depp to appear more likeable – while comparing their overtly amorous display to the plotline from a Mills & Boon novel.
‘When someone is trying to clear their name in court the behavior of their legal teams and the way they interact with them will send out very strongly influential non-verbal messages to a jury and, in a case this size, the rest of the world,’ James told DailyMail.com.
However, James explained that the amorous moments between them are most likely not due to a secret affair, but instead, are all part of a plan to make Depp seem like a ‘romantic hero.’
She said that linking Depp to a ‘fresh, smart, fragrant, and confident-looking woman’ would ‘destroy’ Heard’s recount of their toxic relationship.
Throughout the case, jurors listened to recordings of the couple’s fights and saw graphic photos of Depp’s bloody finger. He said the top of the finger was severed when Heard threw a vodka bottle at him in 2015.
Heard denied injuring Depp’s finger and said Depp sexually assaulted her that night with a liquor bottle. She said she struck him only to defend herself or her sister.
Testimony was livestreamed widely on social media, drawing large audiences to hear details about the couple’s troubled relationship.
Once among Hollywood’s biggest stars, Depp said Heard’s allegations cost him ‘everything.’ A new ‘Pirates’ movie was put on hold and Depp was replaced in the ‘Fantastic Beasts’ film franchise, a ‘Harry Potter’ spinoff.
Depp lost a libel case less than two years ago against the Sun, a British tabloid that labeled him a ‘wife beater.’ A London High Court judge ruled that he had repeatedly assaulted Heard.
He stated in court that Heard was the one who became violent when their relationship soured, claiming that the couple had frequent arguments that included ‘demeaning name calling’ and ‘bullying’ by her, when he took the stand on last month.
Throughout the trial, James noted Depp and Vasquez ‘can hardly keep their hands off one another.’ And when it ended for the day on Tuesday, she said their goodbye reminded her of the moment Winslet’s character in the Titanic, Rose, lost the love of her life – Jack, played by DiCaprio.
‘He touches her when he walks into court and his exit brings on a ritual reminiscent of DiCaprio’s drift away from Winslet’s raft in the closing scenes of Titanic,’ she said.
‘Both stretch arms out and touch hands for as long as possible as though reluctant to leave one another’s presence.
‘The hug is an even more moving piece of body language theatre. Vasquez winds one arm around Depp’s neck and plants the other hand in the middle of his back as she squeezes her eyes shut in an expression of affectionate bliss.
‘It looks flirtatious but that’s probably the point. It wouldn’t be the first time a legal team have used visual signals to create the strongest non-verbal message they can.
‘If a picture paints a thousand words these ‘words’ look straight out of the pages of Mills & Boon.’
Depp pats attorney Camille Vasquez on the back in the courtroom on May 17
The star attorney and star client wrap their arms around each other on May 27 – the last day of testimony in Depp’s defamation trial
Depp hugs attorney Camille Vasquez in the courtroom at the Fairfax County Circuit Courthouse in Fairfax on May 17
James compared Vasquez’s exit at the courthouse during the trial to a ‘Kardashian coming out of a nightclub.’
On one day of the trial, the lawyer donned an ‘ethereal’ white pantsuit and was all smiles as she approached the press, despite the reporter’s questions about her love life. She stopped to pet a dog and greet some of her supporters, before making her way to a waiting car.
‘As she approached the press, her mouth dropped open in a wide and excited-looking smile of happy recognition that converted to dimpling and giggles as she waved to her screaming fans,’ James said.
‘In full celebrity style Vasquez even bent to pet the dog of one fan and then spent time hugging several others.
‘The celebrity posturing looks totally to her taste, but if she is also behaving like Depp’s newest love interest that might just be deliberate, though.’
Camille Vasquez arrives at the Fairfax courthouse wearing all-white ensemble on May 27
Vasquez makes her way into court on May 24 in a black pinstripe outfit
The fluent Spanish speaker went to Southwestern Law School in Los Angeles from 2007 to 2010 and worked at one law firm before joining her current practice, Brown Rudnick LLP, as an associate.
She focuses on ‘plaintiff-side defamation suits, with additional experience litigating contract disputes, business-related torts, and employment-related claims,’ according to her bio on the law firm’s website.
She’s also listed as having ‘extensive experience handling parallel reputation management and crisis communications issues arising from these engagements.’ She does not have any public social media profiles.
Some people on social media have pointed out that Vasquez appears to be wearing an engagement or wedding ring during her court appearances, but since she keeps her personal life so private, it’s unclear whether or not she’s in a relationship.
James added that Vasquez appears to be ‘relishing every moment of her new ‘celebrity’ profile.’
‘A beautiful and besotted love interest for Depp or the most cynical psychological ploy his team could have come up with?’ she asked.
Vasquez, 37, has stolen the show in the Depp and Heard’s defamation suit with her tough cross-examination of Heard and her intimate-seeming relationship with Depp
James explained that the amorous moments between them are most likely not due to a secret affair, but instead, are all part of a plan to make Depp seem like a ‘romantic hero’
In 2018, Heard made a slew of shocking allegations against Depp while writing about being a survivor of domestic abuse for the Washington Post.
Depp was accused of slapping the American actress three times in 2013, after she laughed at his infamous ‘Wino Forever’ tattoo, and attacking her in a cocaine and alcohol-fueled tirade over accusations that she cheated on him with ‘rapist’ James Franco.
Depp has continuously denied Heard’s allegations against him, and he is seeking at least $50 million in compensatory damages and a punitive award of at least $350,000, along with attorneys’ fees and court costs.
He stated in court that Heard was the one who became violent when their relationship soured, claiming that the couple had frequent arguments that included ‘demeaning name calling’ and ‘bullying’ by her, when he took the stand on last month.
He also stated that Heard threw a bottle of vodka at him during an argument which ensued after he asked her to sign a prenup in 2015, and resulted in his middle finger being cut off.
Attorneys for Heard have argued that she told the truth in her piece, and that her opinion was protected as free speech under the U.S. Constitution’s First Amendment.
Heard is seeking $100 million in damages, and has alleged that Depp’s legal team falsely accused her of fabricating the claims against her ex.
Interactions between Vasquez and Heard became tense during the cross-examination portion of the trial earlier this week, gaining the tough lawyer a devoted online following.
At one point, Vasquez got Heard, 36, to admit she didn’t donate her full $7 million divorce settlement to charity despite previously claiming to have done so.
The attorney squeezed in some sharp put-downs as part of her line of questioning.
‘Mr. Depp got you that role in Aquaman didn’t he?’ she asked on Tuesday after the court previously heard audio of Depp mocking the film in a fight.
Vasquez also accused the actress of editing a photo showing her allegedly injured face.
She asked Heard: ‘You just edited these photographs?’
Heard said: ‘Never’.
Vasquez asked if Heard ‘enhanced the saturation to make your face look more red?’
Heard said: ‘That’s incorrect, I didn’t touch it’.
She claimed that Depp is just another one of Heard’s many victims and accused her of hitting her ex-girlfriend, citing an article reporting on her 2009 arrest at the Seattle-Tacoma International Airport.
‘You committed violence against Miss Van Reed during you relationship didn’t you?’ Vasquez asked. ‘And it was covered in the press, isn’t that true?
‘So Mr. Depp isn’t the only domestic partner you’ve assaulted, isn’t he Ms. Heard?’
The exchanges sometimes devolved into angry back-and-forths.
‘Okay, Miss Heard. I got the answer. Thank you. You disagree,’ Vasquez insisted as Heard tried to explain that a photo showing Depp with a black eye was ‘photoshopped.’
Vasquez’s questions put the actress on the defensive, as she seeks to prove that her ex-husband coordinated a smear campaign against her in retaliation for a 2018 Washington Post op-ed in which she described herself as a survivor of domestic abuse.
Depp, 58, first sued Heard for $50 million, claiming he was axed from the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise amid speculation he was the abuser. He was allowed to sue in Virginia because the Post’s online editions are published through servers located in Fairfax County.
Heard responded by countersuing for $100 million, claiming Depp smeared her and branded her a liar, setting the stage for the trial.
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