Jury resumes deliberations in Johnny Depp, Amber Heard's defamation case

A Fairfax County jury continued deliberations in the six-week-long Johnny Depp and Amber Heard's defamation trial on Tuesday morning. The seven-person civil jury came back to the court after the Memorial Day weekend to deliberate whether any of the two parties was defamed by the other and deserves millions of dollars in damages.

Since the jurors didn't reach a verdict in the trial by the end of the day on Friday, Judge Penney Azcarate sent the jurors home and asked them to continue the deliberations on Tuesday.

It is yet to be seen what verdict will be announced by the jurors in the contentious defamation trial.

The 58-year-old actor had sued his ex-wife in Virginia for $50 million, accusing the latter of defaming him through a newspaper opinion piece. In response, his ex-wife and the 'Aquaman' actress countersued for $100 million, saying that the 'Pirates of the Caribbean' star smeared her along with his lawyer by calling her accusations a hoax.

During the trial, Depp denied hitting his ex-wife or any woman and instead, he accused Heard of being violent and abusive.

Heard's December 2018 opinion piece from the Washington Post is at the center of the legal battle. In the article, she called herself a victim of domestic abuse. Even though the article did not have any mention of Depp, his lawyers told jurors that it is obvious that the actress is referring to her ex-husband Depp.

In response to the defamation case, Heard's attorneys quoted the U.S. Constitution`s First Amendment and argued that Heard's comments were covered under the amendment as free speech.

For those uninitiated, the two Hollywood stars first met on the sets of 'The Rum Diary' in 2011. After dating each other for a few years, they tied the knot in February 2015. Their divorce got finalized in 2017, nearly two years after their wedding.

Over six weeks of proceedings, jurors listened to recordings of the couple`s fights and saw graphic photos of Depp`s bloody finger. He said the top of the finger was severed when Heard threw a vodka bottle at him in 2015.

Watch | Johnny Depp vs Amber Heard: Seven-person jury deliberations underway

Heard denied injuring Depp`s finger and said Depp sexually assaulted her that night with a liquor bottle. She said she struck him only to defend herself or her sister.

Testimony was livestreamed widely on social media, drawing large audiences to hear details about the couple`s troubled relationship.

Once among Hollywood`s biggest stars, Depp said Heard`s allegations cost him "everything." A new "Pirates" movie was put on hold, and Depp was replaced in the "Fantastic Beasts" film franchise, a "Harry Potter" spinoff.

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Depp lost a libel case less than two years ago against the Sun, a British tabloid that labeled him a "wife beater." A London High Court judge ruled that he had repeatedly assaulted Heard.

Depp`s lawyers filed the U.S. case in Fairfax County, Virginia, because the Washington Post is printed there. The newspaper is not a defendant.

(With inputs from agency)