In a statement released to Deadline, Johnny Depp’s lawyers, Benjamin Chew and Camille Vasquez, announced that the “Pirates of the Caribbean” actor plans to donate the $1 million settlement from Heard to charities. Notably, those who followed the six-week defamation trial will likely recognize the way that the exact verbiage used in the statement takes a clear swipe at Amber Heard.
The statement reads, “Mr. Depp is pledging and will (actually) donate [the money] to charities.” As many might remember, Vasquez questioned Heard’s interchangeable usage of “pledge” and “donate” during the Virginia trial, asking Heard during cross-examination, “So as of today, you have not donated — paid — $7 million of your divorce settlement to charity, right?,” per Newsweek. Heard admitted, “I have not been able to fulfill those obligations yet.”
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Depp’s statement also stressed that the actor is “pleased to formally close the door on this painful chapter.” According to Chew and Vasquez, the entire legal process has been in pursuit of the truth, not money, for him. They, however, emphasized that the settlement itself upholds — and shows Heard’s acknowledgment of — the jury’s unanimous decision in Depp’s favor.