On June 1, a Virginia jury found Heard liable of defaming Depp in a 2018 Washington Post op-ed, in which she described herself as a “public figure representing domestic abuse” without specifically naming the actor in the piece. The jury awarded him $10 million in compensatory damages and $5 million in punitive damages. Fairfax County Circuit Court Judge Penney Azcarate later reduced the punitive damages to $350,000 to meet the state’s statutory cap.
Although Heard filed to appeal the verdict, she released a statement Dec. 19 announcing she had made the decision to settle the case instead.
During the trial, Depp’s acting career was discussed and, at one point, the 59-year-old testified that he had no interest in playing Jack Sparrow onscreen again.
“The fact is, Mr. Depp, if Disney came to you with $300 million and a million alpacas, nothing on this Earth would get you to go back and work with Disney on a Pirates of the Caribbean film? Correct?” Heard’s lawyer asked, to which Depp replied while on the stand, “That is true.”