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 domestic abuse during and after their marriage, which lasted for two years.

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

Depp sued Heard, the star of “Pirates of the Caribbean”, for $50,000,000. Heard claimed she defamed her when Depp called herself “a public figure representative domestic abuse” in a newspaper article.

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 she was the one who became violent in their marriage.

Depp and Heard first met while they were filming “The Rum Diary”. They got married in February 2015. About two years later, they divorced.

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.

Jurors asked Judge Penney Azcarate whether they should read the whole article during Tuesday’s deliberations. 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 claimed she only struck Depp to protect herself and her sister.

Livestreaming of Testimony on Social Media attracted large audience to learn about the couple’s difficult relationship.

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 lost an libel suit against the Sun in London two years ago. The Sun is a British tabloid and called Depp a “wifebeater”. Heard was repeatedly attacked, according to a London High Court judge.

Because the Washington Post is published in Fairfax County Virginia, Depp’s attorneys filed the U.S. lawsuit. The newspaper is not being sued.