Johnny Depp Thanks 'Unwavering Supporters' After Amber Heard Verdict: 'We Did the Right Thing Together'
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Johnny Depp is thanking his fans after his legal win against Amber Heard.
Alongside a video posted to his newly created TikTok account on Tuesday, the 58-year-old actor wrote, "To all of my most treasured, loyal and unwavering supporters. We've been everywhere together, we have seen everything together. We have walked the same road together. We did the right thing together, all because you cared. And now, we will all move forward together."
"You are, as always, my employers and once again I am whittled down to no way to say thank you, other than just by saying thank you. So, thank you. My love & respect, JD," he concluded his post, which was also shared to his Instagram.
On Wednesday, Depp won all three defamation claims in the case against his ex-wife and was awarded $15 million in damages by a jury. Heard will only have to pay him $10.35 million due to a Virginia law capping punitive damages (the judge reduced the amount to meet that cap).
Srdjan Stevanovic/Getty Images Johnny Depp
Depp was found to have defamed Heard, 36, on one of three claims in a countersuit the Aquaman actress brought against her ex-husband. She was awarded $2 million in damages.
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Depp sued Heard for $50 million in damages, claiming she defamed him by writing a 2018 op-ed about coming forward with domestic-abuse accusations, though she did not mention him by name in the article. Meanwhile, Heard filed a countersuit seeking $100 million in damages, claiming Depp spearheaded a campaign to discredit her and her allegations as "fake" and a "hoax," harming her career and reputation.
Just before the verdict, Depp was seen mingling with fans at a pub in the U.K., where a staffer told PEOPLE the Pirates of the Caribbean star was "very down to earth and a very nice bloke."
Depp was not present when the verdict was read in court in Fairfax, Virginia, on Wednesday, and has been performing onstage with Jeff Beck overseas since Sunday. He said in a statement that the "best is yet to come" for him after the verdict.
"Six years ago, my life, the life of my children, the lives of those closest to me, and also, the lives of the people who for many, many years have supported and believed in me were forever changed. All in the blink of an eye," he said. "False, very serious and criminal allegations were levied at me via the media, which triggered an endless barrage of hateful content, although no charges were ever brought against me. It had already traveled around the world twice within a nanosecond and it had a seismic impact on my life and my career. And six years later, the jury gave me my life back."
"I am truly humbled," Depp continued, in part. "My decision to pursue this case, knowing very well the height of the legal hurdles that I would be facing and the inevitable, worldwide spectacle into my life, was only made after considerable thought. From the very beginning, the goal of bringing this case was to reveal the truth, regardless of the outcome. Speaking the truth was something that I owed to my children and to all those who have remained steadfast in their support of me. I feel at peace knowing I have finally accomplished that."
RELATED VIDEO: Amber Heard's Attorney Says Jurors Were Skewed by 'Lopsided' Social Media Posts, Actress Was 'Demonized'
Heard said in her own statement following the verdict (which her lawyer Elaine Bredehoft said on Today Thursday her client plans to appeal), "The disappointment I feel today is beyond words. I'm heartbroken that the mountain of evidence still was not enough to stand up to the disproportionate power, influence and sway of my ex-husband."
"I'm even more disappointed with what this verdict means for other women. It is a setback," she added. "It sets back the clock to a time when a woman who spoke up and spoke out could be publicly shamed and humiliated. It sets back the idea that violence against women is to be taken seriously."
"I believe Johnny's attorneys succeeded in getting the jury to overlook the key issue of Freedom of Speech and ignore evidence that was so conclusive that we won in the U.K.," Heard continued. "I'm sad I lost this case. But I am sadder still that I seem to have lost a right I thought I had as an American — to speak freely and openly."
The pair wed in February 2015 after meeting while making 2011's The Rum Diary. Heard then filed for divorce and a domestic violence restraining order in May 2016. Depp has maintained that he never abused his ex-wife.
Depp's win in the defamation trial comes 19 months after he lost his U.K. libel suit back in November 2020. He sued British tabloid The Sun for calling him a "wife-beater." Heard testified to back up the claims, and a London judge upheld the outlet's claims as being "substantially true." In March 2021, his attempt to overturn that decision was overruled.
