Amber Heard has revealed that she has made the "very difficult" decision to settle the defamation suit with her ex-husband and actor Johnny Depp.
The announcement comes less than a month after the Aquaman star and her legal team launched a formal appeal of Depp's $50 million defamation verdict. In a lengthy statement posted on Instagram, Heard wrote, "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."
The statement goes on to mention that the actor chose to settle due to her loss of "faith in the American legal system, where my unprotected testimony served as entertainment and social media fodder." She also mentioned how -- despite previously being "vindicated by a robust, impartial and fair system" in the UK -- she was "subjected 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." The humiliation she received throughout the U.S. trial coupled with not wishing to go through the trial process for a third time further contributed to Heard's decision to settle with Depp.
The Depp-Heard Trial, Explained
Depp's $50 million defamation suit against his ex-wife began in April 2022 and concluded the following June. The suit was focused on an op-ed Heard published in The Washington Post, which Depp claims did damage to his career by portraying him as an abuser. Depp was awarded $10 million in compensatory damages and $5 million in punitive damages, the latter of which was limited to $350,000 by Virginia state law. Heard was also awarded $2 million in compensatory damages. Depp later filed an appeal in November 2022 over that counterclaim award. At this time, there are no details regarding the specifics of Heard's settlement with Depp.
Both actors have projects slated for release in 2023, with Depp starring in Jeanne du Barry -- an upcoming historical film about King Louis XV’s last royal mistress at the Court of Versailles -- and Heard returning as Mera in the DC Universe film Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom.
Source: Instagram