'I Finally Have An Opportunity To Emancipate Myself': Amber Heard Agrees To Pay Ex-Husband Johnny Depp $1 Million In Settlement That Ends Their Years-Long Battle
Dec. 19 2022, Published 10:19 a.m. ET
Amber Heard will cough up $1 million as part of a deal with her ex-husband Johnny Depp to end their never-ending court battle, RadarOnline.com has learned.
On Monday, Heard, 36, released a statement announcing the agreement. As RadarOnline.com previously reported, earlier this year, a jury awarded the Pirates of the Caribbean actor $10 million in compensatory damages and $5 million in punitive damages as part of his lawsuit accusing Heard of defamation.
In the suit, Depp said Heard fabricated allegations of abuse to ruin his reputation. She denied the claims and told the jury that the abuse did happen.
The $15 million judgment was reduced to $10.35 million due to Virginia law putting a cap on punitive damages. Heard had appealed the verdict.
However, now, Heard said, “After a great deal of deliberation, I have made a very difficult decision to settle the defamation case brought against me by my ex-husband in Virginia. 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-victimized 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,” she added.
“I was exposed to a type of humiliation that I simply cannot re-live. Even if my U.S. appeal is successful, the best outcome would be a re-trial where a new jury would have to consider the evidence age. I simply cannot go through that for a third time,” she continued. “Time is precious, and I want to spend my time productively and purposefully. For too many years I have been caged in an arduous and expensive legal process, which has shown itself unable to protect me and my right to free speech. I cannot afford to risk an impossible bill – one that is not just financial but also psychological, physical and emotional.”
Depp has yet to speak out about the deal.