For months, Amber Heard and Johnny Depp have had a mud fight in court. Heard recently filed an appeal against the verdict in the defamation lawsuit against Depp. Now the actress is backing down – but that’s not an admission.
Amber Heard and ex-husband Johnny Depp’s court battle finally seems to be over. “After much deliberation, I have made the very difficult decision to settle the defamation case my ex-husband brought against me in Virginia,” the actress said in a statement shared on Instagram.
As “TMZ” also reports, Depp’s lawyers said about the new development: “We are pleased to officially close the painful chapter for Mr. Depp, who has made clear during this process his intention to bring the truth to light. Here went “It’s never about the money. The jury’s unanimous decision and verdict in his favor against Ms. Heard stand in full, as does the one million dollar payment that Mr. Depp pledges to donate to charities.”
It’s important for Amber Heard to say “I never made that choice,” she said in her statement. “I fought for the truth and in doing so my life as I knew it was destroyed. The slander I have faced on social media shows how women are victimized time and time again when they fight back.” Now she finally has the opportunity to free herself from something “that I tried to leave behind more than six years ago”. She also makes it clear: “This is not an admission”.
She lost faith in the American legal system, “where my statement served as entertainment and social media fodder.” Even if her US appeal were successful, “the best outcome would be a retrial, with a new jury re-examining the evidence. I just can’t go through this a third time.”
Time is precious and she wants to use it productively and sensibly, Heard continues. She couldn’t afford to take such a high risk – “not only financially, but also psychologically, physically and emotionally. Women shouldn’t go bankrupt if they tell the truth, but unfortunately that’s not uncommon.” She will not be “threatened, discouraged or dissuaded from telling the truth. My voice will always be the most valuable asset I have”. In the end, Heard thanked her legal team and the people who had shown support and solidarity during the process.
Johnny Depp sued Amber Heard for $50 million in March 2019 over an opinion piece in the Washington Post that appeared in late 2018. In the article, the actress shares her experiences as a survivor of domestic violence. Although Depp’s name did not appear in it, her ex-husband explained that the article destroyed his career.
Heard subsequently filed a $100 million counterclaim against her ex. On June 1, a jury in Fairfax County, Virginia found that Depp was defamed. He was awarded more than $10 million in damages and she was awarded $2 million in a counterclaim.
Johnny Depp appealed part of the verdict in the defamation trial against his ex-wife a few weeks ago. In documents, the lawyers described the decision that Depp would have to pay Heard $2 million as “flawed”. The actress had recently submitted an appeal and actually sought a new process, as “Deadline” reported.
