Featured Image Credit: Law & Crime Network
Topics: Johnny Depp, Celebrity, News
Lisa McLoughlin
Amber Heard has explained why she is yet to donate her full $7 million (£5.6 million) divorce settlement to charity despite previously pledging to do so.
Johnny Depp, 58, is suing Heard in a $50 million (£40.1million) defamation lawsuit over abuse claims she made a piece for The Washington Post in 2018.
Depp’s legal team say the article implies Heard was physically and sexually abused by Depp when they were married, although the article does not mention him by name.
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During the trial on Monday (May 16), details of her and Johnny’s 2017 divorce were examined including their financial settlement – which the Aquaman star, 36, had previously vowed to donate to two organisations.
Heard had pledged to donate half of the money to the Children's Hospital of Los Angeles and the other half to the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) – a nonprofit organisation dedicated to defending individuals’ rights and freedoms.
However, the charity has said it was yet to receive the full donation despite her claiming she had during a 2018 appearance on the Dutch talk show RTL Late Night.
Explaining why she has yet to complete the contributions, Heard told the court: “Because Johnny sued me for $50million in March of 2019.
“I fully intend to honour all of my pledges. I would love for him to stop suing me so I can.”
Depp’s lawyer then asked if her announcement was due to wanting 'praise' and 'good press', to which Heard replied: “That wasn’t my interest.
“My interest is in my name – in clearing my name. At the time, I was being called a ‘liar’ and my motives were being questioned. I did see it as important to clear that up.
“I wanted to make a statement to make sure there was not any doubt. That I couldn’t be labelled these things just because Johnny was the bigger star and had more publicity reach.”
Earlier in the trial, ACLU Chief Operating Officer and General Counsel Terence Dougherty testified in court and confirmed that a total of $1.3million (£1 million) has either been donated by the actress or on her behalf so far.
The latest trial comes after Depp lost a bid to overturn a damning High Court ruling that rejected the actor's claim that The Sun newspaper committed libel when it called him a 'wife-beater' for the alleged abuse against Heard.