Photo by Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images

The Johnny Depp and Amber Heard defamation case has finally come to an end after six long weeks of testimony and a couple days of jury deliberations, with them ruling in Depp’s favour and awarding him $15 million.

But how did it come to this? Let’s take a look back at some of the most explosive moments from one of the biggest celebrity court cases the world has ever seen.

Despite her claims that she was often left with bruises following alleged attacks from Depp, a longtime friend of Depp – who was also friends with Heard – said otherwise in his testimony.

Isaac ‘Ike’ Baruch said he didn’t see any bruises on Heard’s face following one alleged incident.

He told the court: “I say to Amber, ‘He hit you?’ And she says, ‘Yeah, he threw a phone at me, and hit me.’ And I go, ‘Where?’ And she puts her head out, to show me the right eye of her face … I inspect her face … I don’t see anything.”

One of the most shocking claims made during the case was that Depp sexually assaulted Heard with a liquor bottle, something he vehemently denied.

Heard’s attorney Elaine Bredehoft claimed Depp had taken eight to 10 ecstasy tablets before three days of violent activity, including the alleged assault. Depp sat looking confused during the claims and shook his dead when hearing about the alleged assault.

Depp and his legal team were seen celebrating when Heard mentioned Kate Moss’ name in her testimony.

The Aquaman star said she had heard a rumour that Depp once pushed Moss down some stairs and that it was this rumour which caused her to leap to her sister’s defence during an alleged altercation between Whitney Henriquez and Depp.

Depp and his team were thrilled when Heard mentioned Moss, as it meant they were now free to call on her to testify, which she did, telling the court that Depp had never pushed her down the stairs and had in fact rushed to help her after she slipped and fell.

Marriage counsellor Dr Laurel Anderson, who saw Depp and Heard both separately and together, told the court their marriage was a mutually abusive one.

She said both parties had initiated fights during their time together and that Heard had at one time showed her bruises on her face both in person and in pictures.

A number of text messages have been read out during the case, some with very disturbing content.

During his testimony, Depp was asked about a number of texts and emails he sent which featured rather graphic insults about his ex-wife.

In one exchange with British actor Paul Bettany, Depp had said “let’s burn her” and “let’s drown her before we burn her”, adding “to make sure she is dead”.

Depp said he was “ashamed” of what he’d said and admitted it was an attempt at humour based on a Monty Python sketch.

There was much discussion during the case over whether or not Heard suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder or a personality disorder.

Forensic psychologist Dr Shannon Curry – called by Depp’s team – said she believes Heard had borderline personality disorder and histrionic personality disorder.

However, psychologist Dr Dawn Hughes – called by Heard’s team – diagnosed the actress with PTSD caused by “intimate partner violence by Mr Depp”.

Dr Curry later returned to say she didn’t agree with Dr Hughes’ diagnosis.

Much was heard in court about Depp’s finger tip being severed during an altercation with his ex – although they both have different stories as to how the injury occurred.

Dr David Kipper, a private addiction specialist who travelled the world with Depp, said the star had “lost part of a finger” after a violent fight with Heard in Australia in March 2015.

In a pre-recorded deposition he said Depp texted him to say the tip of his finger had been severed and that he made a house call to check on Depp, finding him “coherent”. He said that however, the house was a mess and he saw what appeared to be “blood on the wall”.

Depp’s former house manager Ben King told the court that he’d found Depp’s fingertip in a bloody paper towel near the bear and that he put it on ice before giving it to Dr Kipper and Depp’s head of security Jerry Judge to take to hospital in the hope it could be reattached.

Depp and Heard were married from 2015 to 2017 after meeting on movie The Rum Diary (2011). They dated for about four years before getting married.

Heard filed for divorce in May 2016, which was finalised at the beginning of the following year.

In 2018, Heard wrote an op-ed for The Washington Post under the headline: “I spoke up against sexual violence – and faced our culture’s wrath. That has to change.”

While Depp wasn’t named in the article, his legal team argued it was reasonable to assume the piece was about him and that his movie career had suffered as a consequence.

The article is still live on the website and, since its publication, Depp has been dropped from the Pirates of the Caribbean and Fantastic Beasts franchises.

Depp denies ever being abusive and claimed it was actually Heard who was abusive to him.

 Heard claimed she was only ever violent to Depp in self-defence or to protect her younger sister, Whitney Henriquez.

In 2020, Depp faced The Sun newspaper in a libel case over a headline it ran that called him a “wife beater”.

He sued the publication but lost, with Judge Mr Justice Nicol ruling The Sun had proved what was said in the article to be “substantially true”.

Today, the jury delivered their findings with regards to three separate statements in the op-ed.

The jury ruled that each of the statements were defamatory about Depp, that the statements had been made or published by Heard and that the statements were false.

He has been awarded $10 million in compensatory damages and $5 million in punitive damages.

The jury also found that Heard’s defamation claims against Depp were unproven.

Heard said after the case she was “heartbroken” over the ruling.

She said: “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. 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 UK.

“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.”

Depp was of course much happier about the verdict.

He said: “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.

“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 travelled 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.”

He added: “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.

“I hope that my quest to have the truth be told will have helped others, men or women, who have found themselves in my situation, and that those supporting them never give up.

“The best is yet to come and a new chapter has finally begun. Veritas numquam perit. Truth never perishes.”

If you’ve been affected by this story you can call the National Domestic Abuse Helpline, run by Refuge, on 0808 2000 247, 24 hours a day, or visit their website here.

In other news, Johnny Depp seemingly teases new song about actress Hedy Lamarr on Instagram