The most publicized trial of the year came to an end a few months ago: although the Virginia jury ruled in favor of Johnny Depp in his defamation lawsuit against Amber Heard, the two actors have reached a new agreement to prevent their legal battle from going ahead.
final agreement
Months ago, the trial in which Amber Heard and Johnny Depp accused each other of defamation announced his verdict in favor of Depp, for which Heard should pay him $10 million and $5 million in punitive damages (ultimately reduced to $350,000) and he her $2 million in compensatory damages.
To avoid another trial, both have reached an agreement whereby the actress will pay 1 million dollars to Depp. Heard has expressed his desire for this agreement to put an end to future legal processes on his networks and insists that “it is not a concession”:
After much deliberation, I have made the difficult decision to settle the defamation case my ex-husband brought against me. It is important for me to clarify that I never chose this. I stood up for my truth and, by doing so, my life was destroyed (…) Now I have the opportunity to free myself from something that I tried to leave behind six years ago under conditions that I can accept. This is not an admission or concession on my part.
For their part, Johnny Depp’s lawyers have declared that they “are pleased” with the agreement and that the actor will donate the money to charities:
We are pleased to close this painful chapter for Mr. Depp, who throughout this process has made clear that exposing the truth was his priority (…) The $1 million payment, which Mr. Depp promises to go to charity , reaffirms Ms. Heard’s recognition of the conclusion of the legal system’s rigorous pursuit of justice.