Yesterday, it was announced that Johnny Depp had won the multi-million dollar defamation lawsuit against his ex-wife Amber Heard.

After six weeks of the celebrity exes battling it out in Fairfax, Virginia, jurors sided with Depp and ruled that Heard had in fact defamed him when she claimed to be a victim of domestic abuse in a 2018 Washington Post op-ed.

Now that the high-profile court case is over, many viewers - who have been glued to their screens watching the trial unfold - will be wondering what comes next for Depp, Heard, and their careers.

Jurors decided unanimously that Heard had defamed her ex-husband on all three counts. Subsequently, the Pirates of the Caribbean star was awarded $15 million in damages.

Heard did win one of her countersuits, for which she will be awarded $2 million in damages. However, since the trial was a civil claim rather than a criminal one, neither party will face further punitive action.

That's not to say that we won't see Depp and Heard back on the witness stand at any point in the future. Heard could still appeal against the jury's decision. She could also sue Depp again for taking their case to court in the first place.

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Meanwhile, in the wake of the trial, fans will be keen to see what effect the jury's ruling has on Depp and Heard's careers.

The effect Heard's allegations had on Depp's career - causing him to be dropped from big-budget movie franchises like Pirates of the Caribbean and essentially blacklisted by Hollywood studios - was one of the main reasons he took his ex-wife to court.

While it's still uncertain whether Depp will go back to appearing in big studio productions (like the long-awaited sixth Pirates movie), it looks likely that he will at the very least be able to star in smaller, indie flicks.

One insider told The Guardian: "I believe that he will work again. People love him and with the right project, he can still open a movie."

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Although Depp's victory may be good news for his career, a former California judge has warned that it could spell disaster for victims of domestic abuse who will be less willing to come forward after seeing such a high-profile case.

"Any time a defamation lawsuit is successful, it has a chilling effect on speech," Halim Dhanidina told The New York Post.

"There has always been a chilling effect for victims to come forward and speak out against institutions or entities or people with power because they feel like their world could come crashing down on them," she added

Dhanidina added that Depp's victory could mean "there are people out there who would think twice about making statements if those statements could expose them to legal liability.".

Featured Image Credit: dpa picture alliance / Alamy.

What will happen now that Johnny Depp has won his defamation lawsuit