The Washington Post added an editor's note at the top of Amber Heard's 2018 op-ed on Thursday, after the verdict in the case filed by Johnny Depp found the article to be defamatory.
In the much-talked about op-ed Heard claimed herself to be a survivor of "domestic abuse." Though Heard did not mention Johnny's name in the article, it became quite clear who she was referring to.
On Wednesday, a Jury ruled the verdict in favour of the Pirates of the Caribbean star saying that Amber Heard has defamed her ex-husband Johnny Depp three times in the op-ed published in December 2018.
A jury awarded Johnny Depp $15 million but the judge decreased that to $10.35 million due to a state law in Virginia. The Jury also awarded Heard $2 million in her defamation countersuit.
Following the verdict, the editor's note was added to the op-ed, which includes the journey of the defamation lawsuit since it began.
The editor's note reads; "In 2019, Johnny Depp sued Amber Heard for defamation arising out of this 2018 op-ed. On June 1, 2022, following a trial in Fairfax County, Va. Circuit Court, a jury found Heard liable on three counts for the following statements, which Depp claimed were false and defamatory:
(1) 'I spoke up against sexual violence — and faced our culture's wrath. That has to change.'
(2) 'Then two years ago, I became a public figure representing domestic abuse, and I felt the full force of our culture's wrath for women who speak out.'
(3) 'I had the rare vantage point of seeing, in real time, how institutions protect men accused of abuse.'
The jury separately found that Depp, through his lawyer Adam Waldman, defamed Heard in one of three counts in her countersuit."
Legal analyst Emily D Baker told People that it was a "smart move" by The Washington Post to add an editor's note instead of deleting the op-ed.
"Because this case is so watched and commented on, I think the op-ed is still needed for context. I appreciate that they put up the notice rather than take the op-ed down. And I appreciate that they included, with specificity, exactly the statements that were found to be defamatory," said Emily D Baker.
During the trial, Amber Heard disclosed that the American Civil Liberties Union penned the first draft of the op-ed, and several teams of lawyers reviewed it before it was finalised at the time.
Amber Heard also testified that she did not write or approve the headline that was used in the online version of the op-ed, which adds the term "sexual violence."
The print version has a different headline which reads, "A transformative moment for women." -People
