FAIRFAX, Va. (Court TV) – Actor Johnny Depp has released information about the charities he’s selected to receive a portion of his settlement money won after suing his ex-wife Amber Heard for defamation.
This combination of photos shows actor Johnny Depp testifying at the Fairfax County Circuit Court in Fairfax, Va., on April 21, 2022, left, and actor Amber Heard testifying in the same courtroom on May 26, 2022. Heard notified a Virginia court Thursday, July 21, that she will appeal the $10.35 million judgment she was ordered to pay Depp during a high-profile defamation trial that exposed the inner workings of their troubled marriage. (AP Photo)
Depp and Heard faced off in a weeks-long courtroom battle in 2022, where a jury returned verdicts mostly favoring him, holding Heard liable for $10 million in compensatory damages and $5 million in punitive damages. The punitive damages were capped at $350,000 by a state statute.
Trial Archives: Johnny Depp v. Amber Heard (2022)
Heard initially tried to get the Court to set aside the judgment against her, before eventually agreeing to pay $1 million to her ex to settle the lawsuit. At the time, she announced the decision on Instagram, where she said the settlement was not an admission of guilt, but a way for her to free herself from a situation that “destroyed her life.”
A spokesperson for Depp told Court TV that the actor selected five charities which will each receive $200,000 from the settlement:
- Make-A-Film Foundation: A charity that Depp has previously worked with, that grants film wishes to children with serious or life-threatening medical conditions.
- The Painted Turtle: A facility providing an authentic camp experience, free of charge, for children suffering serious or life-threatening medical conditions.
- Red Feather: A group that partners with Indigenous communities to develop and implement housing solutions working to make Native American homes healthier through education, as well as building new homes and facilitating repairs.
- Tetiaroa Society: A charity founded by Marlon Brando dedicated to restoring the ecosystems of island and coastal communities.
- Amazonia Fund Alliance: An alliance of nonprofits working to support preservation in Indigenous communities in the Amazon.
Depp’s announcement came one year after the jury’s verdict in the case.
During the trial, charitable donations became an issue when Amber Heard admitted under oath that she had not donated her entire $7 million divorce settlement from Johnny Depp, as she initially said she would do. The ACLU chief testified that while Heard had pledged half of her settlement, the group only received $1.3 million. When she was questioned by Depp’s attorney Camille Vasquez, Heard said she had planned to donate the balance of her pledge, but stopped after Depp filed the defamation suit against her.
