Verdict Reached By Jury In Johnny Depp's $50M Lawsuit Against Amber Heard

FAIRFAX, VA — A seven-member jury reached a decision on both actor Johnny Depp's $50 million defamation lawsuit against ex-wife Amber Heard and her $100 million counterclaim on Wednesday.

The jury found that Depp had proved all three of his defamation claims against Heard and awarded Depp with a total $10 million in compensatory damages and $5 million in punitive damages. The latter number was reduced to $350,000 by Circuit Court Judge Penney Azcarate. The new number is the highest amount that can be awarded, according to Virginia guidelines.

Although the jury found that Heard had proved two of her defamation claims against Depp, she was awarded $2 million in compensatory damages.

For six weeks, the jury heard testimony in which Heard said she had suffered abuse at the hands of her ex-husband, citing more than a dozen instances where she said Depp assaulted her, according to the Associated Press.

In court, Depp denied the accusations of physical and sexual abuse, saying that Heard came up with claims in order to destroy his reputation, AP reported.

Heard reacted to the verdict in a statement provided to ABC News, saying the disappointment she felt was "beyond words."

"I'm even more disappointed with what this verdict means for other women," Heard said in the statement. "It is a setback. It sets back the clock to a time when a woman who spoke up and spoke out could be publicly shamed and humiliated."

Related: Johnny Depp Trial: After Verdict Is Read, Normalcy Begins To Return

A spokesperson for Depp also provided a statement to Fox News, in which the actor said the jury "gave him his life back."

"From the very beginning, the goal of bringing this case was to reveal the truth, regardless of the outcome," Depp's statement read. "Speaking the truth was something that I owed my children and to all those who have remained steadfast in their support of me."

Wednesday's verdict was supposed to be read live at 3 p.m., but the judge sent the seven-member jury back to fill out the dollar amounts for each of the six separate claims of defamation, three for each side.

Christina Taft, a Los Angeles data scientist, was one of a handful of Heard supporters who showed up outside the Fairfax County Courthouse during six-week-long the trial. Taft hoped that Heard would appeal the decision.

"We just want to save her life and this is abuse of process," she said, in a text following the verdict. "Amber was forcefully isolated yet JD’s lawyers were talking to people the entire time."

Following the three-day Memorial Day weekend, the seven-person jury returned Tuesday to the Fairfax County Courthouse, to pick up where they'd left off on Friday. Circuit Court Judge Azcarate excused the jury around 2:57 p.m. on Friday, so they could begin their deliberations.

Throughout the defamation trial, supporters from across the country regularly showed up outside the Fairfax County Courthouse, hoping to get a glimpse of the two celebrities on their way to and from court.

'Save A Life': Amber Heard Fans Travel To Show Support In Depp Trial

Hannah, who drove up from Richmond with her future sister-in-law, Caroline, has been following the trial since day one. She admitted to being a little nervous at the beginning of the trial.

"I know that they've been through this before, but I think it's looking up in Johnny's case," she told Patch. "I think that's really good. He has some good evidence."

Christina Taft, a Los Angeles data scientist and founder of Worldie.com, was outside the courthouse for the first day of the trial on April 11 and was there for three of the trial's six weeks.

Depp's libel suit stemmed from a 2018 Washington Post op-ed in which Heard characterized herself as "a public figure representing domestic abuse." Even though the article did not mention Depp by name, his lawyers have claimed that it cost him his lucrative film career including the highly successful "Pirates of the Caribbean" franchise, according to the AP.

Depp filed the defamation lawsuit against Heard in Virginia because the Washington Post's online editions are published through computer servers in Fairfax County.

Related: Johnny Depp Sneaks Into VA Courtroom For 1st Day Of Defamation Trial

Depp's lawyers also chose to file the case in Virginia because the state's anti-SLAPP law — or Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation — is more relaxed than the one in California, InsideNoVa reported. Anti-SLAPP laws prevent people from using courts, and potential threats of lawsuits, to intimidate others from exercising their First Amendment rights.

There are a number of resources available to victims of domestic abuse in Virginia. The National Domestic Violence Hotline can be found at 1-800-799-7233. Virginia's family violence hotline can be reached at 1-800-838-8238.

The Associated Press contributed to the reporting of this story.