Jurors have asked for clarification over a very important issue in Johnny Depp and Amber Heard's trial.
Today marks the second day of deliberation in the multimillion-dollar defamation case, in which Depp is suing his ex-wife over a 2018 Washington Post op-ed she wrote, claiming to be a victim of domestic abuse.
Yesterday, jurors posted a question to the judge about how they should consider the headline of the article, which read: "I Spoke Up Against Sexual Violence — And Faced Our Culture’s Wrath. That Has To Change."
The headline is one of three statements that the jury must weigh when deciding whether to rule in Depp's favor. The other two statements come from the body of the article and read: "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," and: "I had the vantage point of seeing, in real time, how institutions protect men accused of abuse."
Judge Penney Azcarate said that the jurors were confused over whether they should be considering the whole piece or just the title.
"I think the confusion came in this particular one because the statement in question is the title of the op-ed, so I think they are confused as to whether it is the whole op-ed or the title is the statement," she said, adding: "It is clear that the title is the statement."
Depp claims that the article and the allegations made in it wrecked his reputation and his career. His former spouse's lawyers have argued that he is not mentioned by name at any point in it and that the incendiary title was written by an editor at the Post - not by Heard herself.
However, Depp's team refuted these defenses. They pointed out that it was very clear from the context of the article that Heard was talking about Depp, from whom she had been recently divorced. Meanwhile, they also focused on the fact that the Aquaman star retweeted the op-ed when it was published and did not dispute its title.