Johnny Depp selects charities for the $1 million he received from Amber Heard in defamation settlement
By Alli Rosenbloom, CNN
(CNN) — Johnny Depp has chosen the charities he plans to donate the $1 million settlement he’s owed from Amber Heard stemming from their highly publicized defamation trial, CNN has learned from a source close to Depp.
On Tuesday, the source confirmed that Depp has chosen five charities to donate the settlement funds, which include the Make-A-Film Foundation, The Painted Turtle, Red Feather, Marlon Brando’s Tetiaroa Society charity, and the Amazonia Fund Alliance.
The “Pirates of the Caribbean” actor plans to donate $200,000 to each of the five charities, according to the source.
CNN has reached out to representatives for Heard seeking comment on the development.
A Virginia jury found both Heard and Depp liable for defamation in June 2022. The former couple later came to a settlement in December with Heard agreeing to pay Depp $1 million in damages.
At the time, Depp’s lawyers said in a statement that he pledged to donate the settlement money from Heard to charity.
The Virginia jury originally awarded Depp $10 million in compensatory damages and $5 million dollars in punitive damages in June 2022. Heard was awarded $2 million in compensatory damages and no money for punitive damages.
Ultimately, the damages that Heard owed to Depp were reduced to $1 million in December, when the former couple came to a settlement agreement.
Heard posted a statement on her verified Instagram page at the time announcing that they’d reached a settlement, writing that she had “made no admission” and that the settlement is “not an act of concession.”
“I make this decision having lost faith in the American legal system, where my unprotected testimony served as entertainment and social media fodder,” Heard said in her post.
Depp’s lawyers, Camille Vasquez and Benjamin Chew, told CNN in a statement at the time, “We are pleased to formally close the door on this painful chapter for Mr. Depp, who made clear throughout the process that his priority was about bringing the truth to light.”
More recently, both actors have been photographed spending time in Europe, doing their best to move on from the public trial.
The-CNN-Wire
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CNN’s Chloe Melas contributed to this report
