A court in Virginia ruled in favour of Johnny Depp on all three counts brought by his legal team, alleging that the actor had been defamed by ex-wife Amber Heard. As part of the ruling, Depp was awarded $15 million in compensation, while Heard’s countersuit was awarded $2 million.

Heard appears likely to appeal the verdict and will almost certainly appeal the compensatory figures given by the jury. However it seems very likely that Depp will receive a substantial payment as a result of the case, to add to his already-huge personal wealth.

Celebrity Net Worth estimates that the 58-year-old has a total net worth of around $150 million, and that figure does not include the compensation payments.

Also, vocalmedia.com has reported that the actor owns a village in the South of France, Amphitrite Yacht, Little Halls Pond Cay Island, Hollywood Hills Mansions,Somerset Mansion, Five Penthouses among others.

The 27 Club is so-named for musicians, artists, actors, and other celebrities who have died at age 27 due to drug overdose, suicide, homicide or accidental deaths (such as transportation-related accidents).

Well known members of the 27 club — From to right: Brian Jones, Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, Jim Morrison, Jean-Michel Basquiat, Kurt Cobain and Amy Winehouse. Image: Wikipedia

The 27 club consists of exceptionally talented singers and musicians who died at age 27,  between  1938 and 2011. These people would have undoubtedly influenced music history if they had lived longer . There are at least, 72  celebrities listed as far back as 1932.

Also, there are two criteria one needs to fulfill in order to become a member:

1. An artist needs to have achieved a level success before reaching the age of 27;

2. He or she needs to pass away in their 27th year

The most famous members include:

Robert Johnson, who died at age 27 in 1938, was the first member of the 27 Club. Johnson was a legendary early blues guitarist and songwriter. Hi guitar playing was so otherworldly he was said to have “made a deal with the Devil” to obtain his talent.

Jimi Hendrix was another otherworldly guitarist. His his mainstream career spanned only four year, he had global hits like Along The Watchtower, Foxy Lady and Angel. Eric Clapton in a 1968 interview with Rolling Stone said “Jimi can sing very well”.

Janis Joplin has always been extremely high on the list of the greatest and most influential female singers.She was one of the most successful and widely known female rock stars of her era, she was noted for her powerful mezzo-soprano vocals and “electric” stage presence.

Jim Morrison was a poet who named his band the Doors after the mystical poet William Blake’s “Doors of perception.”

Brian Jones was the founder and original leader of the Rolling Stones.

Kurt Cobain was the frontman for Nirvana and the group’s lead vocalist and primary songwriter.

Amy Winehouse was an immensely talented but deeply troubled English singer and songwriter.

Other members are sometimes included in the 27 Club, such as:

• Jean-Michel Basquiat is better known as a graffiti artist and painter.
• Louis Chauvain, a ragtime musician.
• Rudy Lewis, a vocalist for the Drifters.
• Dickie Pride
• Rockin’ Robin Roberts
• and others

Other gifted singers and musicians who died prematurely at other ages:

Tim Bergling, aka Avicii, committed suicide at age 28.  He was known for  songs like Wake Me Up ( which now seems prophetic for its refrain “I didn’t know I was lost” )  Levels,  The Nights and For a Better Day.

Sam Cooke was an incredibly gifted singer and a wonderful songwriter. He he wrote one of the greatest songs of all time, to boot. Cooke died December 11, 1964,  he was shot three times in the chest in a Los Angeles shooting.

Buddy Holly was a highly influential singer, songwriter and musician. He produced some of the most distinctive and influential work in rock music. Holly’s breakthrough hit was “That’ll Be the Day,” with The Crickets in 1957. Buddy Holly was just 22 years old when he died through a plane crash.

Freddie Mercury was a great singer, songwriter and showman. He was known for his flamboyant stage persona and four-octave vocal range.  At the time of his death, he is said to have had a net worth of around £36 million ($50 million ).  Mercury died on November 24, 1991

• Marvin Gaye
• Hank Williams Sr.
• Elvis Presley
• John Lennon
• Bob Marley
• Otis Redding
• Whitney Houston
• Tupac Shakur
• Notorious B.I.G.
• Karen Carpenter
• Dolores O’Riordan
• Stevie Ray Vaughan
• Selena
• Aaliyah
• Lisa ‘Left Eye’ Lopes
• Tammi Terrell
• Cass Elliot
• Ritchie Valens

Thus article is based on information gathered from Wikipedia, Quora and other trusted journals.

Former couple Johnny Depp and Amber Heard are locked in a high-profile defamation lawsuit over Heard’s claims of domestic abuse.

Hollywood actors Johnny Depp and Amber Heard are opponents in a $50 million defamation case currently taking place in Fairfax, Virginia, some seven years after embarking on a marriage that quickly fell apart amid claims by Heard of domestic abuse.

Depp has brought the lawsuit against Heard over an op-ed she wrote in the Washington Post in 2018, in which she didn’t mention her former husband by name, but described herself as a “public figure representing domestic abuse”. Heard, best known for her role in the 2018 superhero film Aquaman, is countersuing Depp for $100 million.

Depp and Heard met 13 years ago

Depp and Heard first met in 2009 while shooting the movie The Rum Diary, in which both starred. During his testimony at the Circuit Court of Fairfax County, Depp recalled the on-set chemistry between the pair, who were both in relationships at the time. “There was a scene where I’m taking a shower and then she comes into the room and she opens the shower and we kiss,” he said. “And that moment was… it felt like something that I shouldn’t be feeling, because she had her wife and I had Vanessa [Paradis, Depp’s then-partner] and kiddies.”

By 2012, Depp and Heard had begun dating, and in January 2014 were reported to have become engaged. They married in February 2015. According to the magazine People, they tied the knot at Depp’s home in Los Angeles, before heading to the 58-year-old’s private island in the Bahamas for a second wedding ceremony in front of “only a few dozen of their closest family and friends”.

Heard files for divorce a little over a year into marriage

However, 15 months later, in May 2016, Heard filed for divorce. She also took out a temporary restraining order against Depp, claiming he had been “verbally and physically abusive” to her throughout their relationship. “Johnny has had a long-held and widely-acknowledged public and private history of drug and alcohol abuse,” the 36-year-old said in her complaint. “He has a short fuse.”

In August 2016, the couple then reached a divorce settlement, with Heard pledging to donate the $7 million Depp had agreed to pay her to the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and the Children’s Hospital of Los Angeles.

Washington Post article leads to lawsuit

Just over two years later, Heard, who is an ambassador for women’s rights with the ACLU, penned an op-ed in the Post entitled: “I spoke up against sexual violence – and faced our culture’s wrath. That has to change”. In the article, she said she had lost work over her allegations of domestic abuse.

“Like many women, I had been harassed and sexually assaulted by the time I was of college age. But I kept quiet – I did not expect filing complaints to bring justice. And I didn’t see myself as a victim. 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.

“A movie I was attached to recast my role. I had just shot a two-year campaign as the face of a global fashion brand, and the company dropped me.”

Depp denies being violent towards Heard, and indeed alleges that she abused him. He launched his defamation suit against his former wife in 2019, arguing that he has lost acting roles as a result of her Post piece.

Depp fails in libel lawsuit against The Sun

In 2020, Depp also sued the newspaper The Sun for libel in the UK, over a 2018 article that described him as a “wife beater”. He lost the case, however, after the court found that The Sun had proven the contents of the article to be “substantially true”.