At long last, Amber Heard and Johnny Depp are finally done.
The actress said on Monday that she does not plan to move forward with the appeal of her defamation case against her ex-husband, Johnny Depp, instead deciding to settle for $1 million, according to TMZ.
“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,” she wrote in an Instagram post.
Depp will donate the $1 million, and in a statement, his attorneys Camille Vasquez and Benjamin Chew were careful not to paint the settlement as a legal win for Heard.
“We are pleased to formally close the door on this painful chapter for Mr. Depp, who made clear throughout this process his intent to bring the truth to light,” they said. “This was never about the money. The jury’s unanimous decision and the judgment in his favor against Ms. Heard remain fully in place, and the payment of $1M—which Mr. Depp is pledging and will donate to charities—reinforces Ms. Heard’s acknowledgment of the conclusion of the legal system’s rigorous pursuit for justice.”
The sum is a significant drop in the $8.35 million Heard was ordered to pay at the end of the an entertaining six-week trial lovely Fairfax County, Virginia that was helpfully broadcast over the internet. Millions were treated to tales of shoving, punching, screaming, bruising, and witnessed crying on the stand. (Not even the jurors could admit to liking either party). Heard, meanwhile, was tortured online while Depp was treated like a hero with fans lining up outside the courtroom so they could watch the proceedings.
It’s unclear who will pay the $1 million, Heard or her insurance company. While TMZ‘s sources say her insurance company will cover it, the New York Times pointed out that she has been locked in litigation in federal court against her insurance company, “which has been seeking to avoid responsibility” for the costs of the verdict, and that it was “not immediately clear” if the insurer would pay the $1 million.
Depp originally filed a $50 million lawsuit against his ex-wife after she wrote an op-ed in the Washington Post describing herself as a “public figure representing domestic abuse.” Heard counter-sued for $100 million. Depp was eventually awarded $10.35 million by a jury and Heard was found to have defamed him on two counts. Heard was awarded $2 million after Depp was found to have defamed Heard through his lawyer.
In her Instagram statement, Heard says she “defended her truth and in doing so my life as I knew it was destroyed.” The settlement would allow her to “emancipate” herself from her marriage. It was “not an act of concession,” she insists. “There are no restrictions or gags with respect to my voice moving forward.
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