Judge Jeanine applauds Johnny Depp verdict: Jury saw through Amber Heard's 'cruel' and 'callous' lies

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Judge Jeanine applauds Johnny Depp verdict: Jury saw through Amber Heard's cruel and callous lies

'The Five' co-host Jeanine Piro breaks down the Johnny Depp v. Amber Heard defamation trial verdict on 'The Story.'

Fox News host Judge Jeanine Pirro applauded the verdict awarding Johnny Depp $15 million in his defamation trial on Wednesday, crediting the jury for seeing through Amber Heard's "cruel" and "callous" lies on the stand.

"Amber Heard tried to use the system and the jury saw through the lies," Pirro told "The Story."

Depp won his defamation case against Heard earlier Wednesday with a jury awarding him $15 million after a bombshell seven-week trial marked by shocking allegations of abuse leveled by both sides.

Pirro praised Depp's legal team, including lawyers Benjamin Chew and Camille Vasquez, for the confidence and preparedness they displayed throughout the highly televised trial.

A photo combination of Amber Heard and Johnny Depp in court May 23, 2022. ((AP Photo/Steve Helber, Pool))

"These are people who believed in the mission," she said. "And the jury believed in them, too. And it makes you proud of the justice system at a time when people have so many questions about it."

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Both sides were bent on mutual destruction, exposing intimate details of their failed marriage in a tit-for-tat that has left their reputations in tatters. 

Pirro said the verdict sends a strong message for Depp, who put "everything on the line" and risked further damaging his reputation in his pursuit of justice. Ultimately, she said, "truth did prevail."

"He rolled the dice. He could have said, you know what? Maybe I’ll come out worse than I already am…[but] It was clear that the man was at the bottom," Pirro said. "He couldn’t go any lower, and he felt that there was nothing to lose by going forward. Hopefully, this is a man who will have faith in the justice system, who will talk about how important justice is."

Amber Heard listening to the jury verdict in her ex-husband's defamation claim against her. (Screenshot)

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"It was a disgusting thing that Johnny Depp had to make a decision, to lay out his life in front of America. These jurors could have said, you know what? You’re both disgusting…but they didn’t," she continued. "They said we believe him. She is not only unbelievable, she’s malicious. She’s cruel. She’s callous and she’s incapable of being believed and therefore we will give him punitive damages in the amount of $5 million. That’s a huge verdict, a huge message here."

Pirro said Heard's decision "to ride on the coattails of real battered women," will damage the credibility of those who come after her. 

Johnny Depp and Camille Vasquez embrace in the courtroom May 17, 2022. (Brendan Smialowski/Pool Photo via AP)

"I know women who were battered. I’ve seen women who were battered. Amber Heard was not that person. She was the batterer. And she tried to use this to her benefit. And unfortunately, this will hurt battered women coming forward behind her," she said.

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"Today, she felt the wrath of the truth finders, the wrath of the system of justice, the civil system." 

The seven-member jury panel, composed of five men and two women also ruled that Depp had defamed Heard through his attorney, awarding her $2 million in compensatory damages. 

Fox News' Rebecca Rosenberg contributed to this report.