Johnny Depp: Jury debate begins in Amber Heard’s defamation trial

In the defamation battle between Johnny Depp also Amber Heard, the jury debate started after a six-week trial in Virginia.

Depp, 58, issued his ex-wife $50 million (£40m) for an article he wrote in which he claimed she was a victim of violence. Hurd, 36, is being sued for $100 million.

Depp’s attorney asked the jury to hold Hurd accountable for his “lie.”

Meanwhile, Ms. Hurd’s team says Depp is a bully and a bully not to be trusted.

The seven-member jury must decide the verdict unanimously. They started their discussion shortly after both sides made closing statements.

Benjamin Rothenborn, Ms. Hurd’s attorney, reminded the jury of explicit text messages between Depp also his friends, telling them he wanted to hurt his ex-wife.

“This is a window into the hearts and minds of the beloved American pirate,” said Mr. Rothenborn. “This is the real Johnny Depp.”

In contrast, Depp’s attorney, Camille Vazquez, called Ms. Hurd’s abuse allegations “wild, exaggerated and lacking credibility.”

“There’s a rapist in this courtroom, but it’s not Mr. Depp,” Vazquez said, playing an audio recording in which the actress confessed to hitting her husband.

“Mr. Depp suffered ongoing verbal, physical also emotional abuse at the hands of Ms. Hurd,” he said.

Friday’s argument echoed much of the final six weeks of the trial, during which both sides offered conflicting accounts of the former couple’s five-year relationship.

Ms. Hurd and her lawyer told the court that Depp was moody also violent, prone to drugs and alcohol, and violent behavior.

On Thursday, Ms. Hurd took a stand. She was emotional when she told the jury about the “harassment, humiliation, campaign against me that resonates every day on social media and cameras in this room.”

Mr. Depp offered a very different picture, arguing that Ms. Hurd was an unstable husband who had abused and humiliated him. He told the jury that his ex-wife “needed” conflict and violence at the booth and assaulted her by cutting off her fingertips.