Amber Heard will pay $1MM to Johnny Depp to end their legal dispute
Depp initially filed a $50 million defamation case against Heard after she published an opinion piece in the Washington Post calling herself a “public figure representing domestic abuse.”
At the trial in Fairfax, Virginia, each actor testified for a number of days, providing graphic tales of drug use and screaming altercations. On Facebook and TikTok, their testimony was frequently remixed and shown live on YouTube. Heard alleged that Depp frequently beat her, strangled her, and once sexually assaulted her using a liquor bottle. She shed a lot of tears while she spoke.
Depp, on the other hand, claimed that Heard was the one who was violent in their relationship and that he would attempt to flee anytime she did. Each party played clips they had chosen to try and support their narratives. The couple had audio recordings of their disagreements throughout their marriage.
On three different defamation charges, the seven-person jury found in Depp’s favour, awarding him $10 million in compensatory damages and $5 million in punitive penalties. The latter amount was reduced to $350,000 in order to adhere to a statutory cap.
Heard received some solace from the jury’s decision in favour of one of her three counterclaims, which held Depp accountable for a remark made by his lawyer in which Heard was charged with committing a “hoax.” After paying Heard $2 million, Depp received a $8.35 million net judgement in his favour.
Amber Heard will pay $1MM to Johnny Depp to end their legal dispute
Heard’s attorney cited “errors” committed by the court in a notice of appeal that was submitted the following month by Heard. The “Aquaman” actor has decided to withdraw her appeal, nevertheless.
In a statement posted on Instagram announcing the decision, Heard made clear that “There are no restrictions or gags with respect to my voice moving forward” and blasted the U.S. legal system for turning her testimony into “entertainment and social media fodder.”
She then compared the U.S. court system to the British one, where Depp had filed a lawsuit against The Sun in 2020 after the publication called him a “wife beater” in an article. Heard served as The Sun’s lead witness. In that instance, the judge ruled in favour of The Sun and deemed the accusations to be “basically true.”
Representatives for Depp expressed their satisfaction with the conclusion in a statement, emphasising that the jury’s verdicts remain valid.
“We are pleased to formally close the door on this painful chapter for Mr. Depp, who made clear throughout this process that his priority was about bringing the truth to light,” said Depp’s attorneys Benjamin Chew and Camille Vasquez. “The jury’s unanimous decision and the resulting judgement in Mr. Depp’s favor against Ms. Heard remain fully in place. The payment of $1 million – which Mr. Depp is pledging and will (actually) donate to charities – reinforces Ms. Heard’s acknowledgement of the conclusion of the legal system’s rigorous pursuit for justice.”
Amber Heard will pay $1MM to Johnny Depp to end their legal dispute
In the midst of her divorce with the “Pirates of the Caribbean” actor, Heard first accused Depp of abusing her. Later, she was awarded $7 million in a settlement, and the couple signed agreements promising to keep their disagreement private.
Here is Heard’s complete comment:
“After a great deal of deliberation I have made a very difficult decision to settle the defamation case brought against me by my ex-husband in Virginia. It’s important for me to say that I never chose this. I defended my truth and in doing so my life as I knew it was destroyed. The vilification I have faced on social media is an amplified version of the ways in which women are re-victimized when they come forward. Now I finally have an opportunity to emancipate myself from something I attempted to leave over six years ago and on terms I can agree to. I have made no admission, this is not an act of concession. There are no restrictions or gags with respect to my voice moving forward. I make this decision having lost faith in the American legal system, where my unprotected testimony served as entertainment and social media fodder. When I took before a judge in the U.K., I was vindicated by a robust, impartial and fair system, where I was protected from having to give the worst moments of my testimony in front of the worlds media, and where the court found that I was subjected to domestic and sexual violence. In the U.S., however, I exhausted almost all my resources in advance of and during a trial in which I was subject to a courtroom in which abundant, direct evidence that corroborated my testimony was excluded and in which popularity and power mattered more than reason and due process. In the interim I was exposed to a type of humiliation that I simply cannot re-live. Even if my U.S. appeal is successful, the best outcome would be a re-trial where a new jury would have to consider the evidence age. I simply cannot go through that for a third time.”
Amber Heard will pay $1MM to Johnny Depp to end their legal dispute
She added, “Time is precious, and I want to spend my time productively and purposefully. For too many years I have been caged in an arduous and expensive legal process, which has shown itself unable to protect me and my right to free speech. I cannot afford to risk an impossible bill – one that is not just financial but also psychological, physical and emotional. Women shouldn’t have to face abuse or bankruptcy for speaking her truth, but unfortunately it is not uncommon. In settling this case I’m also choosing the freedom to dedicate my time to the work that helped me heal after my divorce; work that exists in realms in which I feel seen, heard and believed and in which I know I can effect change. I will not be threatened, disheartened, or dissuaded by what happened from speaking the truth. No one can and no one will take that from me. My voice forever remains the most valuable asset I have.”
Amber concluded by saying, “I’d like to thank my outstanding appellate and original trial teams for their relentless hard work. I want to thank everyone who has supported me and I turn my attention to the growing support that I felt and seen publicly in the months since trial, and the efforts have been made to show solidarity with my story. Any survivor knows that the ability to tell their story often feels like the only relief. I cannot find enough words to tell you the hope your belief in me inspires. Not just for me, but for all of you.”
