Johnny Depp v Amber Heard: What happens to Heard now she's lost to Depp?

What happens to Amber Heard now she's lost to Johnny Depp? Photo / AP

A jury has decided that Johnny Depp was defamed by his ex-wife Amber Heard after a bombshell five-week trial in Virginia.

The decision, reached today in the Fairfax County Court, will see Heard, 36, have to pay US$15 million (NZ$23m) in damages to Depp, 58. Of that $10m ($15.4m) is in compensatory damages and $5m ($7.7m) in punitive damages. However, Virginia law only allows punitive damages up to a maximum of $350,000 ($539,000) meaning Depp was awarded a total of $10.35 million ($15.96m)

The win is a remarkable feat for the Oscar-nominated actor, who said he lost his roles in Pirates of the Caribbean and Fantastic Beasts after Heard's 2018 Washington Post op-ed revealing herself as the victim of domestic and sexual abuse.

While Heard didn't name Depp in the piece, he argued it defamed him and cost him lucrative deals. He also claimed Heard was the abusive one.

Now, a jury has agreed with him.

However Heard won a small victory in her countersuit proving that Depp had defamed her through his ex-lawyer Adam Waldman. She was given compensatory damages of $2m ($3.08m) and nothing at all in punitive damages.

That means she is in debt to Depp for $8.35m ($12.88m).

Amber Heard looked solemn as the verdict was read. Photo / Court TV via AP

What happens to Amber Heard now she's lost?

Even before Depp's trial win the court of public opinion was particularly cold on Heard, who has maintained she was never abusive to Depp.

During the trial, the actor was heard admitting on audiotapes to "hitting" her ex-husband, while it also emerged she didn't donate her $7 million ($10.8m) divorce settlement to charity despite twice publicly claiming she did.

These revelations, combined with her facial expressions and theatrics on the stand, did little to win over onlookers.

As for her career, we already know her role in Aquaman 2 has been significantly reduced – some reports suggest she only appears for 10 minutes.

This revelation came after a change.org petition to have her removed from the sequel entirely garnered more than five million signatures.

But Heard said her career was already beginning to suffer before the verdict, claiming Depp launched a "smear campaign" against her in the press painting her as a liar, which affected her opportunities.

She testified she had only recently shot one "small independent film", for which she was paid $92,000 ($141,920)

Amber Heard's role in Aquaman 2 is understood to have been significantly cut. Photo / Supplied

This is in stark comparison to her $2.8 million ($4.32m) Aquaman pay cheque.

"I shot a film in Guatemala. It's a small independent, meaning it doesn't have distribution or anything," Heard said.

"It's a lower budget film that I had been attached to for many years called Into the Fire."

And now that she's lost, Heard will no doubt struggle to find a big studio who is willing to be affiliated with her given the negative attention surrounding the trial.

What happens to Johnny Depp now he's won?

This is an interesting one.

Firstly, it's important to note that Depp lost his libel case in the UK last year against The Sun newspaper, with a judge ruling the publication was right to label him a "wife beater".

But his latest case in the Fairfax County Court, in which Depp sued Heard personally, has attracted significantly greater media attention, with the public sympathy for Depp reaching a degree we've not yet seen over the course of the former couple's years-long public feud (Heard first filed for a restraining order back in 2016).

Given the extreme support for Depp, it is plausible he may actually be able to resurrect his career.

While he has convinced a jury he was defamed by his ex-wife, it's up in the air whether or not big studios will want to hire him given the damaging allegations Heard has aired in court.

But money talks, and Depp could be proving he is still bankable.

Depp could resurrect his career. Photo / AP

Luxury French designer Christian Dior is one of the only brands to maintain its partnership with Depp, keeping him as the face of its Sauvage men's fragrance.

While the fashion house is yet to comment on the case, the company reportedly experienced boosted sales as the trial played out.

A source told Mail on Sunday: "Sales are up and Dior has no plans to quit. Many fans are going out to buy the new cologne to show their support."

And then there's the public opinion, which has been weighing heavily in Depp's favour.

Comment sections on media stories have been flooded with the viral #JusticeForJohnnyDepp hashtag, while TikTok recorded 15 billion views for the hashtag.

In comparison, #IStandWithAmberHeard content garnered 8.2 million views.

It's fair to assume these diehard Depp fans would happily put their money where their mouth is at the box office.

Depp has already managed to secure an upcoming film role in the French-produced Jeanne Du Barry, in which he has signed on to play King Louis XV.

A jury has decided Johnny Depp was defamed by his ex-wife Amber Heard after a bombshell five-week trial in Virginia. Photo / AP

Perhaps the biggest question among Depp fans is whether or not he will reprise his beloved role of Captain Jack Sparrow in the Pirates franchise.

Producer Jerry Bruckheimer left the door ever so slightly ajar, saying in early May: "Not at this point. The future is yet to be decided."