Actor Amber Heard is settling the defamation case introduced by her ex-husband Johnny Depp, she introduced Monday morning in an Instagram publish. The actors, whose troubled marriage was laid naked in detailed, typically graphic testimony accusing one another of bodily and verbal abuse earlier this yr in a extremely publicized trial in Virginia, are settling for $1 million, Depp’s attorneys mentioned in an announcement.
Depp sued Heard for libel over a December 2018 op-ed she wrote in The Washington Post describing herself as “a public figure representing domestic abuse.”
Following the high-profile trial that uncovered the interior workings of their marriage, Heard was ordered to pay $10.35 million in June to the “Pirates of the Caribbean” star. The jury additionally awarded Heard $2 million in her countersuit.
Heard referred to as the settlement “an opportunity to emancipate myself from something I attempted to leave over six years ago and on terms I can agree to,” and he or she indicated it wasn’t an request for forgiveness.
In an announcement, Depp’s attorneys Benjamin Chew and Camille Vasquez mentioned the settlement would “formally close the door on this painful chapter for Mr. Depp.” A supply near Depp mentioned he’ll pledge the million {dollars} to a number of charities to be named at a later date.
Heard referred to as the choice to settle with Depp “very difficult” and adopted “a great deal of deliberation.”
“I have made no admission. This is not an act of concession,” she mentioned in her assertion. “There are no restrictions or gags with respect to my voice moving forward.”
The supply near Depp mentioned the jury’s choice might nonetheless be used towards Heard if she repeats her allegations towards Depp.
Heard was interesting the jury’s choice, however she mentioned Monday that even when her attraction was profitable, the “best outcome” could be a retrial.
“I simply cannot go through that for a third time,” Heard mentioned. She had beforehand testified within the U.Okay. about her home violence allegations when Depp unsuccessfully sued British newspaper The Sun for libel.
In Monday’s assertion, Heard mentioned she had “lost faith in the American legal system,” noting that within the U.Okay. she was “protected from having to give the worst moments of my testimony in front of the world’s media.”
Comparing the 2 trials, Heard mentioned within the U.S. “my unprotected testimony served as entertainment and social media fodder … I was exposed to a type of humiliation that I simply cannot re-live.”