Amber Heard settles defamation suit against Johnny Depp, pays $1 million

Los Angeles: The long running legal battle between Hollywood Actress Amber Heard and her former husband Johnny Depp comes to an end as she settled the defamation suit by paying $1 million to Depp.

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, reports 'Variety'.

In a statement posted on Instagram announcing the decision, Heard made clear that "There are no restrictions or gags with respect to my voice moving forward" and blasted the US legal system for turning her testimony into "entertainment and social media fodder".

In her own statement, Heard said she had "lost faith in the American legal system." She also said that the settlement spares her the ordeal of further litigation and allows her to finally "emancipate" herself from their marriage.

Meanwhile, 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.

Depp originally filed a $50 million defamation claim against Heard in March 2019 after she published an op-ed in the Washington Post in which she described herself as a "public figure representing domestic abuse".

At the trial, each actor testified for several days, revealing lurid details of drug abuse and screaming matches. Their testimony was streamed live on YouTube and remixed endlessly on TikTok and Facebook.

Heard alleged that Depp repeatedly assaulted her, choked her and once raped her with a liquor bottle. She often broke down in sobs during her testimony.

Depp, meanwhile, alleged that Heard was the aggressor in the relationship, and that he would try to retreat whenever she became violent. The couple had made audio recordings of their arguments during their marriage, and each side played clips they had selected to try to corroborate their accounts.

Previously, a seven-member jury ruled in Depp's favour on three separate claims of defamation, awarding him $10 million in compensatory damages and $5 million in punitive damages. The latter sum was knocked down to $350,000 to comply with a statutory cap.

In a small consolation to Heard, the jury also found in her favour on one of her three counterclaims, finding Depp liable for a statement made by his attorney in which Heard was accused of perpetrating a "hoax". Depp was ordered to pay Heard $2 million, leaving a net judgment of $8.35 million in Depp's favour.

The following month, Heard filed a notice of appeal, with her attorney citing "errors" made by the court. However, the "Aquaman" actor has now agreed to withdraw her appeal.

-IANS Inputs