Judge Makes Jury’s $10.3 Million Award Official in Depp–Heard Trial

(Left) Actor Johnny Depp testifies at the Fairfax County Circuit Court in Fairfax, Va., on April 21, 2022. (Right) Actor Amber Heard testifies in the same courtroom at the Fairfax County Circuit Court in Fairfax, Va., on May 26, 2022. AP Photo

ALEXANDRIA, Va.—The judge in the Johnny Depp-Amber Heard defamation trial made a jury’s award official Friday with a written order for Heard to pay Depp $10.35 million for damaging his reputation by describing herself as a domestic abuse victim in an op-ed piece she wrote.

Judge Penney Azcarate entered a judgment order into the court record after a brief hearing in Fairfax County Circuit Court. She also ordered Depp to pay Heard $2 million, the jury’s award on her counterclaim that Heard was defamed by one of Depp’s lawyers.