Actor Johnny Depp sued his ex-wife Heard for libel in Fairfax County Circuit Court after she wrote an op-ed piece in The Washington Post in 2018 referring to herself as a "public figure representing domestic abuse. Actor Johnny Depp sued his ex-wife Heard for libel in Fairfax County Circuit Court after she wrote an op-ed piece in The Washington Post in 2018 referring to herself as a "public figure representing domestic abuse. “I think the jury heard the evidence, and the verdict was just.”In evaluating Heard’s counterclaims, jurors considered three statements by a lawyer for Depp who called her allegations a hoax. ADVERTISEMENTWhile the case was ostensibly about libel, most of the testimony focused on whether Heard had been physically and sexually abused, as she claimed. ADVERTISEMENTIn the Virginia case, Depp had to prove not only that he never assaulted Heard, but that Heard’s article — which focused primarily on public policy related to domestic violence — defamed him.
