Amber Heard has had a change of heart and has settled her defamation lawsuit with Johnny Depp to avoid another court battle.
Their televised trial earlier in May was years in the making, with The Pirates of the Caribbean star originally filing a defamation claim against Heard in March 2019 after Heard published an op-ed in The Washington Post in which she described herself as a “public figure representing domestic abuse.”
Following the trial, a Virginia jury ruled that Depp and Heard had defamed each other, with the 59-year-old winning all his defamation claims.
Depp, whose attorney made a statement in which Heard was accused of perpetrating a “hoax,” was ordered to pay his ex-wife $2 million.
Meanwhile, Heard was ordered to pay Depp $10 million in compensatory damages and $5 million in punitive damages, which was reduced to $350,000 due to the state’s statutory cap.
The following month, Heard filed an appeal claiming there were errors made by the court. In a subsequent interview, Heard stood by her accusations and promised to appeal the verdict. However, in a new statement, she has revealed that she is withdrawing her appeal.
In a statement announcing the decision, Heard said, “There are no restrictions or gags with respect to my voice moving forward” and criticized the U.S. legal system for publicizing her testimony and turning it into “entertainment and social media fodder.”
Amber Heard settles defamation suit for $1 million
Depp’s attorneys said in a statement to TMZ that the defamation case “was never about money,” with Heard reportedly agreeing to pay just $1 million of the $8 million she was ordered to pay her ex-husband.
According to the outlet, Depp will pledge the money to several charities.
In a lengthy statement, Heard said, “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 went on to slam the U.S legal system and praise the defamation system under English law where a judge ruled that The Sun newspaper, which Depp sued, had made a “substantially true” statement when they labeled him a “wife beater.”
“When I took before a judge in the UK, I was vindicated by a robust, impartial and fair system, where I was protected from having to give the worst moments of my testimony in front of the world’s media, and where the court found that I was subjected to domestic and sexual violence,” she wrote.
The actress described the $8 million judgment she was ordered to pay Depp as “an impossible bill” before thanking her legal team for their effort.
Amber Heard last seen in Spain
The actress was last seen publicly in Spain back in October, where she was spending time with her daughter.
It was reported that she rented a house under a fake name to keep a low profile. However, it is unclear whether she is still residing in Spain.
Amber has not returned to making movies since losing in court.