Six months after the most-watched Hollywood-related divorce trial of all time, Amber Heard has finally settled her defamation action against Johnny Depp by paying the star $1 million.
Depp, known for his roles in the “Pirates of the Caribbean” franchise and several Tim Burton films, including “Edward Scissorhands” and “Sleepy Hollow,” is set to donate the money to a quintet of charities he has chosen.
The pay-out by Heard, 37, is part of a deal orchestrated by attorneys, which has the actress’s insurance company paying Depp, 60, the full sum.
Initially, the Virginia jury found both parties liable for defamation, awarded Depp $10 million in compensatory damages and $5 million in punitive damages, and awarded Heard $2 million in compensatory damages and zero for punitive damages. In December, the damages owed by Heard to Depp were ultimately reduced to $1 million when a settlement agreement was reached.
It was on June 1, 2022, after only two days of deliberation and a seven-and-a-half-week trial, that a jury found Depp had proven all the elements of defamation for all three statements from a 2018 Washington Post op-ed penned by Heard.
That decision included determining the statements were false and that the actress defamed Depp with actual malice.
The ruling came after the famous couple, who were married from 2015 to 2017, had battled in a bitter fight publicly throughout the previous six years, with Heard claiming she was a victim of domestic violence at the hands of Depp.
The trial included myriad intimate and lascivious details of the pair’s relationship, much of which was played during the trial from recordings made by both parties over the course of their tumultuous relationship.
The trial held in Fairfax County, Virginia was preceded by an earlier trial in London, which initially ruled in Heard’s favor.
For his part, Depp had maintained his goal for bringing the lawsuit wasn’t to leave Heard broke, but to restore his own reputation.
After losing the case, Heard posted on Twitter last summer: “The disappointment I feel today is beyond words. I’m heartbroken that the mountain of evidence still was not enough to stand up to the disproportionate power, influence and sway of my ex-husband.”
Since then, Heard’s Twitter account @RealAmberHeard is no longer listed. Its deletion occurred after Elon Musk acquired the social media platform. Heard and Musk were in a relationship, which reportedly ended back in 2018.
At the time of the settlement in December, Heard posted a statement to her verified Instagram page noting that she had “made no admission” and clarifying that the settlement was “not an act of concession.”
“I make this decision having lost faith in the American legal system, where my unprotected testimony served as entertainment and social media fodder,” she said.
Meanwhile, Depp as of late has been keeping busy in various artistic endeavors including the showcasing of both his artistic and musical inclinations.
For her part, Heard who reportedly now lives in Madrid, Spain with her two-year-old daughter Oonagh Paige, is set to launch her new film “In the Fire” at the 69th Taormina Film Festival held in Sicily from June 23 to July 1.
