By Lisa Richwine

(Reuters) – Jurors in Virginia are expected to resume their deliberations Wednesday on multimillion-dollar defamation cases brought by Hollywood actors Johnny Depp & Amber Heard. They were accused of abuse during and before their marriage.

On Tuesday, the seven-member jury considered all evidence and reached a decision after weighing it for seven hours.

Depp, the “Pirates of the Caribbean” star aged 58, sued Heard for $50 Million. She claimed that Heard defamed her when she said she was “a public figure representing domestic violence” in an opinion piece published by a newspaper.

Heard, 36 years old, sued Depp for $100 million. He claimed Depp made her look bad when he called her allegations a hoax.

Depp denied that she hit Heard, or any other woman. She claimed that it was her who became violent during their relationship.

Depp and Heard first met while they were filming “The Rum Diary”. They got married in February 2015. Two years later, their divorce was finally finalized.

In the middle of this legal case lies a Washington Post December 2018 opinion article by Heard, in which Heard makes the statement regarding domestic abuse. Although the article didn’t mention Depp, his lawyer said that it was obvious Heard was speaking about him.

On Tuesday, Judge Penney Azcarate was asked by jurors whether to consider the entirety of the article or the headline. According to the headline, Heard said that Heard had “speak out against sexual violence and was subject to our culture’s fury.”

Azcarate indicated that she would explain to the jury the headline as the sentence they must consider in reaching their verdict.

Heard’s lawyers argued during six weeks of testimony that Heard had been truthful and that Her comments were protected as free speech under Section 1 U.S. Constitution.

Jurors heard recordings from the fights between the couple and were shown graphic photographs of Depp’s finger. He claimed that the tip of his finger was cut off when Heard in 2015 threw a bottle of vodka at him.

Heard claimed that Depp did not injure her finger. She also said Depp sexually assaulted Her with a glass of alcohol. She stated that she did not strike him to protect her or her sister.

The couple shared their troubles in their relationship via live streaming on social media.

Depp claimed Heard’s claims cost him his Hollywood stardom. Depp was placed on notice and replaced by the director of “Fantastic Beasts”, a spinoff from Harry Potter.

Depp was a victim of a libel suit against The Sun in London, two years before he lost it. This British tabloid called him a “wife-beater” and a tabloid in Britain. Heard was repeatedly assaulted by him, according to a London High Court judge.

The U.S. case was filed by Depp’s legal team in Fairfax County Virginia because there is a Washington Post newspaper. The newspaper is not being sued.