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Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
Entertainment
Harry Rutter

Johnny Depp 'pleased to close the door' on 'painful' defamation trial with ex Amber Heard

Johnny Depp's lawyers say they're "pleased to close the door" on the "painful" multimillion-dollar defamation trial with his ex-wife Amber Heard.

The Hollywood star's legal team, Benjamin Chew and Camille Vasquez, confirm the Pirates of the Caribbean actor, 59, will donate the money received in damages from the trial to charity.

He sued ex-wife Amber over a 2018 article she wrote for The Washington Post about her experiences as a survivor of domestic abuse, which lawyers claim accused him of being an abuser. Johnny wasn't named in the article.

In June this year, a jury at Fairfax County Court returned a verdict in Johnny’s favour and he was awarded 10.3 million dollars (£8.43 million) in damages.

Johnny will reportedly donate the cash to charity (POOL/AFP via Getty Images)

Amber had appealed the decision but finally agreed to pay Johnny $1million over the weekend to settle the long-winded battle.

In a new statement to the press, Benjamin and Camille said: "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.

"The jury's unanimous decision and the resulting judgment in Mr Depp's favour against Ms Heard remain fully in place.

"The payment of one million dollars - which Mr Depp is pledging and will donate to charities - reinforces Ms Heard's acknowledgement of the conclusion of the legal system's rigorous pursuit for justice."

Amber filed for divorce from Johnny in May 2016 (AFP via Getty Images)

A source close to Johnny told The Mirror: "There are no victories here for Amber - the judgement against her stands until the end of time.

"Contrary to what she claims, the judgement can still be used against her if she were again to repeat the false and defamatory allegations.

"With the $1M, Johnny will be making a pledge to several different charities to be named at a later date."

It comes after Amber says she was "humiliated" during the US trial.

She claims she was "exposed to a type of humiliation that I simply cannot re-live" as she calls for a "re-trial with a new jury".

Amber says she was 'humiliated' during the US trial (AFP via Getty Images)

In a statement on Instagram, posted on Monday, she wrote: "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.

"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 vilification I have faced on social media is an amplified version of the ways in which women are re-victimised when they come forward.

Speaking of her experience in the US, she added: "I exhausted almost all my resources in advance of and during a trial in which I was subjected to a courtroom in which abundant, direct evidence that corroborated my testimony was excluded and in which popularity and power mattered more than reason and due process.

Amber claims she was 'vilified' on social media (POOL/AFP via Getty Images)

"In the interim I was exposed to a type of humiliation that I simply cannot re-live.

"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. I simply cannot go through that for a third time."

She added: "For too many years I have been caged in an arduous and expensive legal process, which has shown itself unable to protect me and my right to free speech.

"I cannot 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."

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