Amber Heard announced she settled her defamation case against Johnny Depp.
The surprise move comes weeks after lawyers for the actress officiallyappealed the June verdict, in which a Virginia jury awarded the Pirates ofthe Caribbean stars more than $10 million. Heard said on Monday she “made avery difficult decision” to settle “after a great deal of deliberation.” Theactress went on to slam the US justice system in her lengthy statement andsaid she “cannot relive” the kind of humiliation she was exposed to during thesix-week trial.
“It’s important for me to say that I never chose this. I defended my truth andin doing so my life as I knew it was destroyed. The vilification I have facedon social media is an amplified version of the ways in which women arerevictimized when they come forward. Now I finally have an opportunity toemancipate myself from something I attempted to leave over six years ago,” the_Aquaman_ star continued, referencing her very public 2016 divorce from Deppwhen she accused him of abuse.
Depp has not publicly commented on the settlement, which TMZ reports is $1million. A rep for the actor did not respond to Yahoo Entertainment’s requestfor comment.
Heard, 36, noted her statement is “not an act of concession” and “there are norestrictions or gags with respect to my voice moving forward.”
Depp sued Heard for $50 million over a 2018 op-ed she wrote for TheWashington Post. Although the actress never named her ex-husband, she wroteabout being the victim of physical and sexual violence. A jury agreed it’sreasonable to infer the person was Depp. The ruling meant a jury did notbelieve Heard was emotionally or physically abused, even once — even after thestar’s emotional testimony on the stand.
In her statement, Heard said she “lost faith in the American legal system,where my unprotected testimony served as entertainment and social mediafodder.”
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Although Depp won all three of his claims of defamation, Heard won one of hercounterclaims and was awarded $2 million. However, the verdict was considereda resounding win for the actor and directly contradicted a 2020 ruling in theUK When Depp sued a tabloid for labeling him a “wife beater,” a judge ruled itwas “substantially true” the actor assaulted Heard on a occasion boxes.
“When I took before a judge in the UK, I was vindicated by a robust, impartialand fair system, where I was protected from having to give the worst momentsof my testimony in front of the world’s media, and where the court found thatI was subjected to domestic and sexual violence,” she continued in Monday’sstatement. “In the US, however, I exhausted almost all my resources in advanceof 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 whichpopularity and power mattered more than reason and due process.In the interimI was exposed to a type of humiliation that I simply cannot relive.Even if myUS appeal is successful, the best outcome would be a re-trial where a new jurywould have to consider the evidence age. I simply cannot go through that for athird time.”
Johnny Depp gestures to supporters in court on May 27, 2022. (Photo: AFP viaGetty Images)
Heard, who welcomed a daughter in 2021, said by settling this case she’s”choosing the freedom to dedicate my time to the work that helped me healafter my divorce; work that exists in realms in which I feel seen, heard andbelieved and in which I know I can effect change.”
“I will not be threatened, disheartened, or dissuaded by what happened fromspeaking the truth. No one can and no one will take that from me. My voiceforever remains the most valuable asset I have,” she continued.
Heard thanked her lawyers and supporters.
“Any survivor knows that the ability to tell their story often feels like theonly relief,” she concluded. “I cannot find enough words to tell you the hopeinspires your belief in me. Not just for me, but for all of you.”
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