Amber Heard Announces Settlement With Johnny Depp

UPDATE Dec 19, 2022 12:52 PM CST

When Amber Heard announced Monday that she had settled her defamation case against ex Johnny Depp, she didn't release details. However, TMZ and the Daily Beast are now reporting that she will pay Depp $1 million to end the case. TMZ adds that Heard's insurance company, not the actor herself, will actually pay the money. A jury initially awarded Depp $15 million, though that was later reduced to about $10 million. Plus, Heard won a $2 million judgment from the same jury in her countersuit. In a statement, Depp's attorney said the legal team was "pleased to formally close the door on this painful chapter," adding that Depp will donate the money to charity.

Dec 19, 2022 10:50 AM CST

There won't be another trial with Amber Heard and Johnny Depp squaring off. The 36-year-old Heard announced on Instagram Monday that she'd made the "very difficult" decision to settle the defamation case brought by her ex-husband, reports NBC News. No terms were disclosed. Earlier this year, a jury initially awarded Depp $15 million over his claim that Heard hurt his reputation with a newspaper op-ed in which she called herself a victim of domestic abuse. The same jury awarded Heard $2 million as part of a countersuit. She was on track to appeal the verdict against her before Monday's settlement.

"It's important for me to say that I never chose this," wrote Heard, per Variety. "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-victimised when they come forward." She added: "I have made no admission. This is not an act of concession. There are no restrictions or gags with respect to my voice moving forward." Depp hadn't yet commented on the settlement as of Monday morning. The two were married for two years before they divorced in 2017. (More Amber Heard stories.)