By Lisa Richwine
Jurors deliberating the dueling defamation claims from actors Johnny Depp and Amber Heard adjourned on Friday without delivering verdicts, leaving the resolution in the widely watched six-week trial to next week.
Depp, the 58-year-old “Pirates of the Caribbean” star, sued ex-wife Heard in Virginia for $50 million and argued that she defamed him when she called herself “a public figure representing domestic abuse” in an opinion piece she wrote.
Heard, 36, countersued for $100 million, saying Depp smeared her when his lawyer called her accusations a “hoax.”
The seven-person jury deliberated for more than two hours on Friday. They will resume discussions on Tuesday after the U.S. Memorial Day holiday.
Depp has denied hitting Heard or any woman and said she was the one who turned violent in their relationship.
“Mr. Depp experienced persistent verbal, physical and emotional abuse by Ms. Heard,” attorney Camille Vasquez said in closing arguments on Friday.
She said Heard’s allegations of abuse by Depp, including a sexual assault with a liquor bottle, were “wild, over-the-top and implausible” and had ruined his reputation in Hollywood and among fans.
“We ask you to give Mr. Depp his life back by telling the world Mr. Depp is not the abuser Ms. Heard says he is,” Vasquez said.
Heard lawyer Benjamin Rottenborn, in his closing argument, reminded jurors of explicit text messages from Depp to friends or associates.
In one, Depp called Heard a “filthy whore” and said he wanted her dead and “would fuck her burnt corpse.”
“This is a window into the heart and mind of America’s favorite pirate,” Rottenborn said.
“This is the real Johnny Depp.”
At the center of the legal case is the December 2018 opinion piece by Heard in the Washington Post, in which she made the statement about domestic abuse. The article never mentioned Depp by name, but his lawyer told jurors it was clear that Heard was referring to him.
