FAIRFAX, Virginia — A jury on Wednesday ruled in favor of actor Johnny Depp in his libel lawsuit against his ex-wife, Amber Heard, vindicating his stance that Ms. Heard fabricated claims that she was abused by Mr. Depp before and during their brief marriage. 

The verdict could help the star rehabilitate his image — at least that’s his hope — after a televised trial that turned into a spectacle of a vicious marriage.

Throughout the trial, fans — overwhelmingly on Mr. Depp’s side — would line up overnight for coveted courtroom seats. And spectators who couldn’t get in would gather on the street to cheer Mr. Depp and jeer Ms Heard whenever either appeared outside.

Mr. Depp sued Ms. Heard for libel in Fairfax County Circuit Court over a December 2018 op-ed she wrote in the Washington Post describing herself as “a public figure representing domestic abuse.” His lawyers said he was defamed by the article even though it never mentioned his name.

Mr. Depp accused Ms. Heard of libeling him with a 2018 op-ed she wrote describing herself as “a public figure representing domestic abuse.” Ms. Heard filed a $100 million counterclaim against the “Pirates of the Caribbean” star after his lawyer called her allegations a hoax. Each accuses the other of destroying their career.

Testimony during the six-week trial has included lurid details of their short and volatile marriage. Ms. Heard testified that Mr. Depp physically or sexually assaulted her more than a dozen times. Mr. Depp said he never struck Ms. Heard, that she concocted the abuse allegations, and that she was the one who physically attacked him, multiple times.

Mr. Depp was not in Virginia at the time of the decision. He’s spent the last few days on stage, singing and playing guitar with Jeff Beck in the United Kingdom.