Johnny Depp to Donate $1 Million Amber Heard Settlement to Several Charities: Lawyers

Tommy McArdle
·2 min read
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Johnny Depp is ready to close the door on his defamation case against Amber Heard.

On Monday, attorneys for Depp, 59, announced that he will donate Heard's $1 million settlement payment to several different charities.

"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," Depp's attorneys Benjamin Chew and Camille Vazquez wrote in a statement Monday, shortly after Heard announced that a settlement in the case had been made.

"The jury's unanimous decision and the resulting judgement in Mr. Depp's favor against Ms. Heard remain fully in place," the attorneys added in a statement. "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."

RELATED: Amber Heard Announces 'Very Difficult Decision' to Settle Johnny Depp Defamation Case

Heard wrote in a statement shared to Instagram Monday morning that she had made "a very difficult decision" to settle the case, just weeks after she appealed the defamation verdict demanding a reversal or new trial and saying the outcome has a "chilling effect" on women speaking out.

Johnny Depp testifies in the courtroom at the Fairfax County Circuit Courthouse in Fairfax, Virginia, April 25, 2022. - Actor Johnny Depp sued his ex-wife Amber Heard for libel in Fairfax County Circuit Court after she wrote an op-ed piece in The Washington Post in 2018 referring to herself as a "public figure representing domestic abuse." (Photo by Steve Helber / POOL / AFP) (Photo by STEVE HELBER/POOL/AFP via Getty Images); Amber Heard returns from recess at Fairfax County Circuit Court during a defamation case against her by ex-husband, actor Johnny Depp in Fairfax, Virginia, on May 4, 2022. - US actor Johnny Depp sued his ex-wife Amber Heard for libel in Fairfax County Circuit Court after she wrote an op-ed piece in The Washington Post in 2018 referring to herself as a "public figure representing domestic abuse." (Photo by ELIZABETH FRANTZ / POOL / AFP) (Photo by ELIZABETH FRANTZ/POOL/AFP via Getty Images)

Steve Helber/POOL/AFP/Getty; ELIZABETH FRANTZ/POOL/AFP/Getty Johnny Depp; Amber Heard

"It's important for me to say that I never chose this," Heard wrote in her statement. "I defended my truth 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 women are re-victimised when they come forward."

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"Now I finally have an opportunity to emancipate myself from something I attempted to leave over six years ago and on terms I can agree to," she continued. "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."

Johnny Depp testifies in the courtroom at the Fairfax County Circuit Courthouse in Fairfax, Virginia, April 25, 2022. - Actor Johnny Depp sued his ex-wife Amber Heard for libel in Fairfax County Circuit Court after she wrote an op-ed piece in The Washington Post in 2018 referring to herself as a "public figure representing domestic abuse." (Photo by Steve Helber / POOL / AFP) (Photo by STEVE HELBER/POOL/AFP via Getty Images); Amber Heard arrives in the courtroom at the Fairfax County Circuit Court in Fairfax, Virginia, on May 3, 2022. - US actor Johnny Depp sued his ex-wife Amber Heard for libel in Fairfax County Circuit Court after she wrote an op-ed piece in The Washington Post in 2018 referring to herself as a "public figure representing domestic abuse." (Photo by JIM WATSON / POOL / AFP) (Photo by JIM WATSON/POOL/AFP via Getty Images)

Steve Helber/POOL/AFP/Getty; JIM WATSON/POOL/AFP/Getty Johnny Depp; Amber Heard

RELATED: Amber Heard Says Johnny Depp Verdict Has 'Chilling Effect' on Women, Demands Reversal or New Trial

Depp's donation announcement follows his recent reprisal of his Pirates of the Caribbean franchise character Capt. Jack Sparrow for a series of personal videos sent in collaboration with the Make-A-Wish Foundation to an 11-year-old boy named Kori, who is currently in palliative care.

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A source close to Depp told PEOPLE the actor was contacted by Make-A-Wish with "a timely ask" to get in contact with the boy, who operates a pirate-themed YouTube channel called "Kraken The Box."

Kori is a "massive" fan of Jack Sparrow and frequently watched the Pirates movies "during his multiple heart surgeries and subsequent recovery periods," the source told PEOPLE.