"It was about restoring his reputation": Johnny Depp to donate $1 million Amber Heard settlement to charity

American actor Johnny Depp will donate the amount he received from his defamation trial with Amber Heard to charity.

On Monday, December 19, the lawyers of the 59-year-old star, Benjamin Chew and Camille Vazquez, issued a statement to People Magazine stating that the star will donate the $1 million settlement obtained from Heard to different charities.

A portion of the statement read:

"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.

Taking a dig at Amber Heard's previous claims of pledging but never donating her money to charities, the statement further read:

"The payment of $1M - 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."

Johnny Depp has been basking in the glory ever since his high-profile trial against his former wife, Amber Heard. The duo were married from 2015 to 2017.

---

Amber Heard has finally settled her case against Johnny Depp

Johnny Depp's donation announcement came just hours after Amber Heard announced on Instagram that she would legally settle her case against the Pirates of the Caribbean actor.

The Aquaman star began her lengthy statement by announcing the "very difficult decision" to settle her infamous defamation case but stated that in defending her truth, her life 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."

Heard stated that she finally has an "opportunity" to emancipate from "something she attempted to leave over six years ago." However, she added that her statement is neither an admission nor "an act of concession."

Continuing her statement, Amber Heard added that she has lost all faith in the American legal system and compared it to the United Kingdom courts.

Calling it a "robust, impartial and fair system," Amber Heard stated that during her UK trial, her testimony was protected from the media, unlike the US trial where her "unprotected testimony served as entertainment and social media fodder."

The Rum Diary star also stated that her ex-husband, Johnny Depp, won the Virginia courtroom case because of "popularity and power" instead of "reason and due process."

"In the interim I was exposed to a type of humiliation that I simply cannot re-live. Even if my US appeal is successful, the best outcome would be a re-trial where a new jury would have to consider the evidence again. I simply cannot go through that for a third time."

She concluded her lengthy statement by stating that she would use her time "productively and purposefully."

"In settling this case I am also choosing the freedom to dedicate my time to the work that helped me heal after my divorce; work that exists in realms in which I feel seen, heard and believed, and in which I know I can effect change."

The settlement comes months after Johnny Depp and Amber Heard were involved in a months-long court battle that concluded on June 1 this year.

The case stems from an op-ed article by Heard in the Washington Post in 2018, where she claimed to be a domestic abuse survivor. Although she did not name Depp, his lawyers claimed that the piece insinuated that it was about the actor.

Johnny Depp filed a $50 million defamation lawsuit against Heard for her "hoax" claims, with the actress countersuing him for $100 million.

After six weeks of a heated court battle, the verdict was announced on June 1 with a seven-person jury awarding Depp $10.35 million as compensatory and punitive charges while Heard only got $2 million and no punitive fees.