WHATTA SLAP IN THE FACE!

Jury decides Amber must pay Johnny $10.3M for her domestic abuse lies

VENGEFUL Johnny Depp's stunning triumph in his sensational domestic abuse defamation trial against ex-wife Amber Heard boiled down to his superior lawyers and ability to connect with the Virginia jury, say legal experts.

"I think Depp's team was much more prepared than the Heard team," says forensic trial expert Dean Tong, who specializes in high-conflict divorce and abuse accusations.

"That showed itself at the trial, and I think some of Amber's facial expressions and [behavior on the stand] may have tarnished her credibility."

After he was awarded a whopping $10.3 million for Heard's cruel lies, Johnny, 58, proclaimed the "jury gave me my life back" though Amber, 36, was given $2 million in her countersuit, for comments made by one of Depp's old lawyers.

The "Pirates of the Caribbean" stud watched the dramatic climax to the six-week Celebrity Trial of the Century in Britain via a live stream - and was spotted in a pub shortly after the verdict.

"Six years ago, my life, the life of my children and the lives of the people who for many, many years have supported and believed in me were forever changed," he says. "From the very beginning, the goal of bringing this case was to reveal the truth. I feel at peace knowing I have finally accomplished that."

The jury concluded Johnny's image, reputation and career were damaged by statements made in a 2018 article written by Amber in which she implied Depp physically abused her during their marriage.

But the jurors also found Amber had been defamed when Johnny's former lawyer accused her of staging a "hoax" after police came to their apartment in May 2016.

Amber showed no emotion as the verdict was read in court.