Amber Heard has decided she’s not going to appeal the judgment of a Virginia court which determined she owed Johnny Depp $10 million dollars. She made the announcement on Instagram:
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There are several pages to her statement so you have to click through to read it all. Heard said in her statement that she had lost faith in the American legal system. She says that “popularity and power” mattered more than due process. She says she can’t face going through another trial over this same evidence. She goes on to say that she won’t be dissuaded from speaking the truth but I’m guessing she won’t be writing any more op-eds about her marriage to Depp.
Overall, her statement strikes me as a really modern way to avoid admitting that she lost and wasn’t likely to win on appeal so there was no point in continuing to drive her life into this particular ditch for another year, spending money on attorneys that she probably can’t afford to spend. So she’s going to settle, which is the smart move, though the amount seems a bit short.
Amber Heard will pay Johnny Depp $1 million to settle their long-running legal battle, in which each accused the other of domestic violence.
The sum is a significant reduction from the $8.35 million she was ordered to pay after a six-week trial in Virginia earlier this year. The payment is expected to come from her insurance carrier.
In a statement, Depp’s attorneys said that he would donate the money to charity. His attorneys have previously said that the case was “never about the money” for Depp.
I thought settlements usually happened before a jury reached a conclusion. In this case, it sounds like Depp has generously decided the real win here was the publicity of her losing the case. That’s what he wanted, not her money which he clearly doesn’t need. So he’s agreed to accept much less she was ordered to pay.
Following Heard’s decision to settle the defamation case previously brought against her by ex-husband, a source close to the 59-year-old actor tells PEOPLE that “part of the point of appealing it” for Heard, 36, “was both the financial reasons [and] to ensure there wasn’t a judgment in place against her — that has significant ramifications.”
“This judgment is never going away,” the insider continues, adding of Depp, “He has always said he wasn’t looking to destroy her. He said it wasn’t about money, and it’s not! He just wanted the truth.”
After Heard announced her decision to settle, Depp’s attorneys Benjamin Chew and Camille Vasquez said in a statement to PEOPLE, “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.”
“The jury’s unanimous decision and the resulting judgement in Mr. Depp’s favor against Ms. Heard remain fully in place,” they added. “The payment of $1 million — which Mr. Depp is pledging and will (actually) donate to charities — reinforces Ms. Heard’s acknowledgement of the conclusion of the legal system’s rigorous pursuit for justice.”
So why not just drop the entire judgment? I’m speculating but they way I read the statement from Depp’s attorney is that he wanted it forever on the record that Depp was the significant winner in this case and Heard was the seven-figure loser. Had he given her a complete pass, people might have claimed it was the result of a guilty conscience on his part or something like that. But clearly he doesn’t feel guilty about pressing her for $1 million, he’s just not trying to destroy her financially.
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