Jury finds both Amber Heard and Johnny Depp liable for defamation

[SunSeeker]

41. The jury found her general statements advocating for abuse victims defamatory. That was wrong.

Depp’s claim centered on three statements contained in an op-ed Heard wrote for The Washington Post on Dec. 18, 2018:

The first statement was the headline, which read, “Amber Heard: I spoke up against sexual violence — and faced our culture’s wrath. That has to change.”

Then, within the op-ed, was the second statement: “Then two years ago, I became a public figure representing domestic abuse, and I felt the full force of our culture’s wrath for women who speak out.”

And the third: “I had the rare vantage point of seeing, in real time, how institutions protect men accused of abuse.”

For every one of those statements, Depp had to prove each of these elements by a preponderance of evidence:

1. That it was “false.”

2. That it communicated to someone else something “defamatory” and that it was “about” Depp.

3. That Heard intended it to be defamatory.

4. Then, by clear and convincing evidence (a higher burden), Depp had to prove that Heard made the defamatory statement either knowing it was false or was highly aware it was probably false. 

Let’s start with the first statement, which is the headline. As someone who writes articles for news organizations, like the one you’re reading right now, I can tell you that I never write the headline. Never. I don’t even suggest one. I don’t know if that’s some trade secret I’m not supposed to tell. I guess we’ll know if my editor has left these sentences in this article you’re reading right now. 

In my mind, the first statement should have been thrown out because Heard likely didn’t write the headline. Indeed, Heard’s legal team maintained she didn’t write it. But the jurors did not throw it out at all; they found it defamatory. 

https://www.nbcnews.com/think/amp/rcna31510