Amber Heard and Johnny Depp finally settle defamation case

 

The United States actors and former couple Amber Heard and Johnny Depp have finally settled their defamation case, months after a Virginia court announced the decision.

Heard will pay her ex-husband Depp $1m in a settlement of their defamation suit. Heard announced the defamation settlement on Monday. She also said that she lost “faith” in the American legal system.

In June this year, Heard lost the defamation trial against her ex-husband. A Virginia jury awarded Depp $15m in damages. The jury also awarded Heard $2m for one part of her own counterclaim against Depp. However, Heard filed an appeal in the case earlier this month. Her legal team reportedly filed a new 68-page appeal against Depp. Heard’s ex-husband also filed his appeal of the $2 million verdict ruling. He said that he does not want to pay his ex-wife the $2 million.

However, on Monday, she chose to finally settle the case. She said that she cannot go through another trial. She finally agreed to pay Depp the amount awarded by the jury.

Depp had sued his ex-wife for defamation over a 2018 op-ed in The Washington Post, wherein she said that she had survived domestic violence and abuse. Depp was not named in the op-ed but it defamed him in front of the public and the media. He also lost a few films because of that article. Depp’s legal team said that the op-ed falsely implied that he was a domestic abuser in their marriage. Later on, Heard filed a countersuit against Depp for $100 million in 2021.

The six-week televised trial became one of the sensational news of the year. Many people watched the trial on the internet. Many people supported Depp and slammed Heard on social media. When Depp won the case, many people celebrated outside the court.