Jurors In Johnny Depp Defamation Trial Pose Question About Headline In Amber Heard’s Op Ed
Jurors posted a question to the judge Tuesday about how they should evaluate the headline in Heard's Washington
Post op-ed on the first full day of deliberations in Johnny Depp's $50 million defamation suit against Amber Heard .
The headline of the December, 2018 article was "I Spoke Up Against Sexual Violence - And Faced Our Culture's Wrath. That Has To Change."
Penney Azcarate said the jurors were wondering if they should consider whether the headline was defamatory or to consider the "content of the statement, everything in the op-ed.".
"I believe the confusion came in this particular case because the statement in question is the title of the op-ed
so they are unsure if it is the entire op-ed or if the title is the statement," she said. "It is clear that the title is the statement."
According to jury verdict forms, the headline is one of three statements the jury has to consider when deciding whether to rule for Depp or not.
The seven jurors also have to consider whether statements in the op-ed are defamatory
A statement reads, “Then two years ago, I became a public figure representing domestic abuse, and I experienced the full force of our culture’s wrath for women who speak out.
” Another statement reads, “I had the vantage point of seeing in real time how institutions protect men accused of abuse.”
Depp's legal team spent considerable time trying to undermine Heard's claim that Depp sexually assaulted her during an argument in March 2016.