The woman triumphs.

Left breast bared, spear and sword in hands, she stands, left foot on the body of the man she has killed.

His crown is on the floor next to him.

"Virginia – Sic semper tyrannis": This is how tyrants should be treated at all times, reads the seal of the state of Virginia, which was always displayed when Johnny Depp's libel trial against his ex-wife Amber Heard was on break and the TV stations had nothing to broadcast.

Jorg Thomann

Editor in the “Life” section of the Frankfurter Allgemeine Sunday newspaper.

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It's hard to see a metaphor for the case being tried here in that seal after the jury delivered its verdict on Wednesday.

Because the king of Hollywood, allegedly struck down by a young woman, has risen again: the jury agreed with Johnny Depp that Amber Heard slandered him and sentenced her to damages of ten million dollars plus a penalty of five million , which the judge reduced to $350,000.

Although Depp was also found guilty of defamation of Heard because of earlier statements by one of his lawyers, the damages to her of two million dollars seem comparatively symbolic.

Heard said shortly after her conviction that she was "heartbroken" that despite the "mountain of evidence" she was not believed.

The process will have repercussions.

And not just because every day of the process is stored forever on the web.

The fact that the two Hollywood actors met in the courtroom in Fairfax County, Virginia, can be explained by the fact that the Washington Post, which published a momentous op-ed article by Amber Heard in December 2018, prints its newspaper pages in Virginia and servers its online edition stand here.

From the point of view of Depp's legal team, another argument in favor of Virginia was that defamation lawsuits in California have less of a chance because of the laws there – and certainly also that the trial was broadcast live in Fairfax.

Johnny Depp wanted to restore his reputation and the world should be there.

Completely independent of the judgement, he who, as an actor, knows the power of images

But the price for this is high.

The media write of a mud fight, which describes what happened only insufficiently because even hardened mud can be washed off again.

Amber Heard, on the other hand, will, also through her own fault, be marked as a modern unlucky girl for her life – and for what career is still possible for her.

Depp's career should breathe new life into the verdict, but he also lost.

Industry expert Richard Marks said on the witness stand that he was "one of the few big stars who has managed to keep their private life private".

That's over, and much of what we now know about the private dork is unflattering.