'I never chose this': Amber Heard to pay Johnny Depp $1M after 'difficult decision' to settle defamation case
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: After much deliberation, Amber Heard settled her defamation case against Johnny Depp. In an Instagram post on Monday, Heard said that settling the case was "very difficult" but that she feels it is the right thing to do "after a great deal of deliberation". Depp, 59, and Heard, 36, have been embroiled in a legal battle since 2016 when Heard accused Depp of domestic violence.
Amber lashed out at being re-victimized on coming forward about the abuse she had endured, "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," Heard wrote further. The pair’s lawyers have reached a deal that will see Heard’s insurance company pay Depp $1 million, Daily Mail reported.
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In her statement, Heard framed the settlement as a last resort, characterizing it as "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," she added. In 2018, Depp sued Heard for $50 million over an op-ed she wrote for The Washington Post in which she said she was a domestic abuse survivor, but did not name who had abused her. Heard countersued for $100 million, but Depp's lawyers argued that it was obvious she was referring to Depp.
Heard lost the court battle on June 1 in the Fairfax County case and the verdict awarded Depp $10 million in compensatory damages and $5 million in punitive damages; Heard was awarded $2 million in compensatory damages which was later slashed down to $350,000 to comply with a statutory cap, but nothing in punitive damages as per NBC. Heard was "heartbroken" and "disappointed" with the verdict and she wrote about it in length suggesting it was a setback for women. It is a setback. It sets back the clock to a time when a woman who spoke up and spoke out could be publicly shamed and humiliated. "It sets back the idea that violence against women is to be taken seriously." Feeling sad as now, she wrote, "I'm sad I Iost this case. But I am sadder still that I seem to have lost a right I thought I had as an American to speak freely and openly." The following month, Heard filed a notice of appeal, with her attorney citing “errors” made by the court. However, it appears the actor has now agreed to withdraw her appeal.
She has hoped that following the conclusion of the case, "I can move on so can Johnny" and that it had pained her to have to "live out the details the life of her past experiences with Depp in front of the world," suggesting that the media coverage the case got had damaged deeply disturbed her. The latest post announcing a settlement with her ex-husband was the only post since June when she lost the case. However, no details of the settlement terms have been made public yet.
As per a report, the pair’s legal teams have been locked in discussions to avoid the pain of a bruising third trial after Heard filed an appeal. A deal was finally made over the weekend with both sides agreeing to put out a statement. "Amber is now looking forward to moving on with her life as she planned to do six years ago," a source close to Heard told the outlet. She wants to put this unfortunate episode behind her and turn to what she "loves in life: her career, her family, and her causes".