 "Explained: The legal settlement between Amber Heard and Johnny Depp in the defamation case")
It was one of the most talked-about and controversial trials of 2022. Hollywood star Johnny Deep had filed a defamation suit against his former wife Amber Heard for writing a 2018 op-ed for The Washington Post, which suggested he abused her.
The weekslong televised trial culminated earlier this year after jurors found Heard guilty of defaming Depp. Now the actress has finally agreed to a legal settlement with her former husband, putting an end to years of legal disputes over conflicting allegations of abuse during their marriage.
The case against Heard
The Pirates of the Caribbean actor sued his former wife for defamation over The Washington Post article in which she described herself as a “public figure representation domestic abuse”. While the piece did not name Depp he claimed it cost him acting roles.
Depp, 56, sued Heard, 36, for implying that he was an abuser and sought $50 million in damages.
The actress also countersued Depp for $100 million over remarks made by his former lawyer Adam Walkman who called her abuse claims a “hoax”.
The verdict of the case
In June, the Virginia civil jury found that Heard defamed Depp in three separate statements in The Washington Post article and Depp defamed her with one statement made by his former lawyer. She was ordered to pay more than $10m in damages to Depp. The actor, meanwhile, was ordered to pay Heard $2m.
In July, Heard had appealed against the ruling that ordered her to pay Deep. But she has since dropped the effort, according to a report in Guardian. Now, her announcement puts an end to any further litigation between the two for now.
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View AllAlso read: Judge rejects Amber Heard bid for new trial with Johnny Depp
The defamation case settled
In an Instagram post, the Aquaman actress said that agreeing to the settlement was a “very difficult decision” and was followed after “a great deal of deliberation”.
The statement read, “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-victimised 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 respects to my voice moving forward,” the post read.
“I make this decision having lost faith in the American legal system, where my unprotected testimony served as entertainment and social media fodder,” she added.
She also slammed the US media for favouring “popularity and power” over “direct evidence.”
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The settlement**
Variety quoted Depp’s attorneys as saying that Heard will pay the actor $1 million to settle the long-running case, which he has pledged to donate to charity. Notably, the amount is a significant reduction from the $10 million that she was ordered to pay for damages to Depp.
The other terms of the agreement have not been publicised.
Also read: Johnny Depp is dating his lawyer. It's not who you think it is
The court drama
In March 2019, Depp had filed a $50 million defamation case against his ex-wife
The trial in the Virginia court witnessed a high-voltage drama with both the actors revealing details of drug abuse and screaming at each other. Their testimony which was televised on YouTube was recreated in short videos endlessly on social media.
In her countersuit, Heard alleged that Depp assaulted her repeatedly, choked her and even raped her once with a liquor bottle. He said that Heard was the one who was aggressive in their two years of marriage and that he would try to retreat whenever she grew violent.
The former couple also presented several audio recordings proving their side of the arguments.
Finally, the jury in the US ruled in Depp’s favour.
However, in the UK, Depp lost a libel case against The Sun after he sued the newspaper for calling him a “wife beater”. The judge ruled out in favour of the publication as the article was “substantially true”.
Johnny Depp and Amber Heard were married for two years from 2015 to 2017.
With inputs from agencies
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