Amber Heard settles defamation case with Johnny Depp for $1M

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Jimmy Joins 'America's Newsroom' To Talk About Amber Heard's Request For A New Trial

During an appearance on "America's Newsroom", Jimmy Failla shares his thoughts on actress Amber Heard seeking a new defamation trial against her ex-husband Johnny Depp. 

Amber Heard has agreed to pay Johnny Depp $1 million to settle his defamation claim against her.

By inking the deal, Depp is letting Heard, 36, slide on the full $10.35 million judgment he was awarded by a jury.

The seven-figure sum, which will be paid by Heard's insurance policy, will put an end to the exes' acrimonious courtroom battles that began shortly after they split in 2016, according to a source.

"It’s important for me to say that I never chose this. I defended my truth and in doing so my life as I knew it was destroyed."

— Amber Heard 

"After a great deal of deliberation, I have made a very difficult decision to settle the defamation case brought against me by my ex-husband in Virginia," she wrote on Instagram Monday. 

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Johnny Depp and Amber Heard have agreed to settle their defamation claims against each other. (Getty Images)

"It’s important for me to say that I never chose this. I defended my truth and in doing so my life as I knew it was destroyed," the statement says. "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."

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Heard added that the deal imposes no restrictions on her ability to talk about the case or her allegations of abuse. 

"I have made no admission, this is not an act of concession," she wrote.  

The source close to Depp pointed out that if she continues to accuse her ex-husband of abuse, she could be sued again for defamation. 

After divorcing in 2017, Amber Heard and Johnny Depp have accused each other of domestic abuse.  (Getty Images)

Depp's lawyers, Benjamin Chew and Camille Vasquez, said the case was never about money for their client. 

"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," they said in a statement.  

Depp has pledged to donate the entire $1 million payout to charity, according to his lawyers.

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The nationally televised courtroom spectacle in Virginia ended in June with a jury awarding Depp a $15 million judgment against Heard for defaming him by penning a 2018 op-ed that referred to herself as domestic abuse victim. 

Judge Penney Azcarate reduced the sum to $10.35 million. The jury handed Heard $2 million in her countersuit, but the verdict was largely seen as a sweeping victory for Depp.

Actress Amber Heard, right, and her sister Whitney Heard, second left, depart the Fairfax County Courthouse on June 1, 2022 in Fairfax, Virginia after Johnny Depp won a $10.35 million judgment against her.  (Rod Lamkey/Consolidated News Pictures)

The "Aquaman" actress and Depp both appealed the verdict before reaching their latest agreement. 

The Depp source told Fox News Digital that there is no victory for Heard in the settlement. 

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"There is now a final judgment finding that her accusations of abuse against Mr. Depp were false," the source added. "She can never re-litigate that decision, which will now stand for all time."

The "Danish Girl" star said she agreed to the deal "having lost faith in the American legal system." 

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She compared the U.S. trial to Depp's lawsuit against the Sun newspaper for branding him a "wife-beater," which he lost. Heard testified on behalf of the publisher, and her allegations of abuse were substantiated. 

Split of Johnny Depp and Amber Heard. Left: Johnny Depp performs on stage with Jeff Beck (not pictured) during the Helsinki Blues Festival at Kaisaniemen Puisto on June 19, 2022 in Helsinki. (Venla Shalin/Redferns via Getty Images)

"When I stood before a judge in the UK, I was vindicated by a robust, impartial and fair system," she wrote of the 2020 trial in London. 

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"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," she wrote of her decision not to pursue her appeal. "I simply cannot go through that a third time."