Skip to main contentSkip to footer
Digital Cover celebrities

Amber Heard pays $1 million to Johnny Depp: Defamation case over

Depp’s attorneys, Camille Vasquez and Benjamin Chew, also shared a statement after the settlement.


Daniel Neira
Daniel Neira - Los Angeles
Senior WriterLos Angeles
JUNE 13, 2023 1:10 PM EDT

The Virginia defamation case between Amber Heard and Johnny Depp has come to an end now that the settlement money has been issued to the actor. Heard has paid $1 million to Depp, and an insider has revealed what he is planning to do with the money.

People reports that the 60-year-old star will be dividing the amount between five charity organizations, including Make-A-Film Foundation, The Painted Turtle, Red Feather, Tetiaroa Society, and Amazonia Fund Alliance. The source says Depp will be giving $200,000 to each.

Cannes Film Festival 2023. Jeanne du Barry Photocall© GettyImages

The news comes 1 year after the verdict on June 1, 2022, with the settlement announced in December 2022. The actress shared her thoughts about her decision at the time, explaining that she “never chose” to go in that direction. “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-victimized when they come forward,” she said.

Depp’s attorneys, Camille Vasquez and Benjamin Chew, also shared a statement in December, announcing that the actor would be donating the $1 million payment to charities of his choice.

National Police Go To Amber Heard's Home In Madrid© GettyImages

Heard also said she could not “afford to risk an impossible bill — one that is not just financial, but also psychological, physical and emotional. Women shouldn’t have to face abuse or bankruptcy for speaking her truth, but unfortunately it is not uncommon.“

“I will not be threatened, disheartened or dissuaded by what happened from speaking the truth. No one can and no one will take that from me. My voice forever remains the most valuable asset I have,” she concluded.