Amber Heard agrees to pay US$1 million, settles defamation suit against Johnny Depp
ACTRESS Amber Heard has agreed to pay ex-husband Johnny Depp US$1 million (about RM4.43 million) as a settlement in their defamation suit case.
Heard, 36, however said the decision was “not a sign of agreement”.
In a statement on Monday, the Aquaman actor said she made the choice after “losing faith in the United States legal system”.
In June, a Virginia court jury found that Heard had defamed Depp, 59, in an article in which she claimed to be the victim of her ex-husband’s abuse.
Earlier this month, Heard filed an appeal in the case, asking that the jury’s verdict be thrown out or face a retrial.
“Even if my appeal in the US is successful, the best outcome would be a retrial.
“I couldn’t go through with it,” Heard said.
Depp sued his ex-wife following an article published in the Washington Post newspaper, in which Heard described herself as a “public figure representing domestic abuse”.
Heard filed a countersuit.
The televised six-week trial drew wide attention.
The couple met in 2009 while filming “The Rum Diary’; before getting engaged in 2014 and married a year later.
Their marriage however only lasted for 15 months before divorcing in 2017.
Depp in his testimony denied his ex-wife’s claims that he was the cause of Heard’s emotional, physical and sexual abuse.
The jury ultimately ruled in favor of Depp, and Heard was ordered to pay $15 million (about RM66 million) in damages to her ex-husband.
On Monday, Depp’s lawyers said in a statement they were happy to “officially close this painful case”.
The actor will also donate the US$1 million settlement to several charities.
