After their last case in 2021, Amber Heard returned to settle a defamation fight against her ex-husband Johnny Depp.
Depp and Heard were originally married in 2015, but after divorcing 15 months later in 2016, Heard wrote an op-ed for The Washington Post in 2018. Heard titles the op-ed ” I spoke up against sexual violence — and faced our culture’s wrath. That has to change.”
In the op-ed, Heard describes a history of abuse and sexual harassment, and assault from a young age references a culture in Hollywood and beyond that has protected male abusers, and calls for this behavior to change. In the op-ed, she refers to previous remarks about her experiences with domestic violence and identifies herself as “a public figure representing domestic violence.” However, Depp’s name is not listed.
The Aquaman star announced her decision in a lengthy Instagram post on Monday, where Heard wrote how the decision followed “a great deal of deliberation” and provides her with an “opportunity to emancipate myself from something I attempted to leave over six years ago and on terms I can agree to.” She denied that it was an admission or an act of concession, saying, that “there are no restrictions or gags with respect to my voice moving forward.”
In March 2019, Depp filed a $50 million defamation lawsuit against Heard over the comments, and while Depp wasn’t explicitly named, it’s clear that Heard was referring to him in the piece. In May 2022, a jury upheld three of his claims and denied just one, awarding him a prize of more than $10 million. It also awarded Heard $2 million for testimonies from Depp’s attorneys.
In her Instagram message, Heard brought back Depp’s past cases. One being, Depp’s libel case in the UK against British tabloid The Sun, where he was described in an article as “wife beater.” During this case, Heard said that she was “vindicated by a robust, impartial and fair system” that “protected” her from sharing “the worst moments of my testimony in front of the world.”
She explains that she finished her message by saying that she wanted to move forward and regain her time and avoid another “difficult and costly legal process” that is “unable to protect me and my right to free speech,” she explains.
After Heard announced that she wanted to settle a defamation fight, on Monday, Depp’s team responded to a statement from The Hollywood Reporter “we are pleased to formally close the door on this painful chapter for Mr. Depp, who made clear throughout this process that his priority was about bringing the truth to light,” said Benjamin Chew and Camille Vasquez, attorneys for Mr. Depp. “The jury’s unanimous decision and the resulting judgment in Mr. Depp’s favor against Ms. Heard remain fully in place. The payment of $1M — which Mr. Depp is pledging and will donate to charities — reinforces Ms. Heard’s acknowledgment of the conclusion of the legal system’s rigorous pursuit for justice.”
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