Johnny Depp trial result live: Jury reaches verdict in Amber Heard defamation case

Regarding Johnny Depp’s absence from court, a spokesperson for Amber Heard says:

“Your presence shows where your priorities are. Johnny Depp plays guitar in the UK while Amber Heard waits for a verdict in Virginia. Depp is taking his snickering and lack of seriousness on tour.”

The judge and court staff who sat through six weeks of testimony in the defamation trial between Johnny Depp and Amber Heard received a round of applause as the jury finally began deliberations in the case.

The courtroom in Fairfax County, Virginia, witnessed a rare moment of lightheartedness – and agreement between the legal teams for the former spouses – on Friday (27 May) as they showed their thanks to Judge Penney Azcarate.

Johnny Depp will not be present for the reading of the verdict as he is still in the UK.

A source close to Mr Depp said: “Due to previously scheduled work commitments made before the trial, Mr. Depp will not be physically present for today’s 3pm verdict and will be watching from the United Kingdom.”

The jury has reached a verdict in the defamation trial opposing Johnny Depp and Amber Heard.

The court in Fairfax, Virginia, issued an alert on Wednesday afternoon announcing the verdict would be read in court at 3pm after roughly 12 hours of deliberation.

WARNING: This article contains allegations of physical and sexual violence that some readers may find distressing.

Amber Heard spent several days on the witness stand in the defamation trial brought against her by ex-husband Johnny Depp, telling jurors of the abuse she claims to have suffered at his hands.

She began on 4 May by providing background how they met and they fell in love, before sharing several allegations of physical abuse and sexual assault across three more days on the stand.

Here’s what we learned from Ms Heard’s testimony:

Johnny Depp gave nearly four days of testimony in his defamation trial against his ex-wife Amber Heard, seeking to convince the jury that he did not abuse her and was in fact a victim of her abuse.

Mr Depp first took the stand on Tuesday 19 April, then kept testifying every day up until the end of Thursday 21 April. Proceedings paused on Friday 22 April, then over the weekend, and picked up again on 25 April with continued testimony from Mr Depp. He then returned to the stand for his rebuttal on 25 May.

Here is what we learned during his time as a witness:

Johnny Depp’s lawyers pleaded with jurors to “give him his life back” after it was “ruined” by Amber Heard’s allegations of domestic abuse, as closing arguments got underway on Friday (27 May).

Mr Depp’s attorney Camille Vasquez told the jury that the evidence had shown Ms Heard was the “abuser” and Mr Depp was the “abused” during their tumultuous relationship, saying that both Mr Depp’s “good name” and his “life” are at stake as they reach their verdict.

Amber Heard’s attorney told jurors that ruling in favour of Johnny Depp would make them an “accomplice” to his abuse and “campaign of global humiliation”, as the case neared a dramatic close on Friday (27 May).

Attorney Benjamin Rottenborn delivered closing statements to the court in Fairfax, Virginia, where he warned that Mr Depp’s argument that he was not abusive to Ms Heard sends a “message” to survivors of domestic abuse everywhere.

A car decorated as a ship from the Pirates of the Caribbean films drove past the courthouse where a jury was deliberating the verdict in Johnny Depp’s defamation trial against Amber Heard on Tuesday (31 May).