Amber Heard settles defamation case against Johnny Depp, says 'My life is destroyed'

Putting a full stop to one of Hollywood's most publicised court cases, actress Amber Heard has finally settled her defamation case against her ex-husband, Johnny Depp. After the months-long case, Heard has agreed to pay $1 million to Depp.

The two-month-long trial was held in Fairfax, Virginia, during which the 'Aquaman' actress accused her ex-husband of domestic violence. After the six weeks long trial, the seven-member jury at Fairfax court sided with Johnny in the $50 million defamation case and agreed that Amber and her Washington Post op-ed had slandered not only Depp's image but also his career.

The Controversial Case of Johnny Depp and Amber Heard

Recently, the news came out about new court cases brewing between the couple. To avoid the third case, both sides finally agreed to settle everything and decided to reach a conclusion and end everything.

In a statement shared on her Instagram handle, Amber wrote that she has lost faith in the American legal system.

The full statement reads via Mirror: "After a great deal of deliberation, I have made the very difficult decision to settle the defamation case brought against me by my ex-husband in Virginia."

Missing fingertip to 'threesome' with Elon Musk: Shocking revelations made in Johnny Depp-Amber Heard case

"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. Now I finally have an opportunity to emancipate myself from something I attempted to leave over six years ago on terms I can agree to. I have made no admission. This is not an act of concession. There are no restrictions or gags with respect to my voice moving forward.''

''I make this decision having lost faith in the American legal system, where my unprotected testimony served as entertainment and social media fodder.''

In the lengthy statement, she also mentioned her UK libel suit which Depp lost.

''When I stood before a judge in the UK, I was vindicated by a robust, impartial and fair system, where I was protected from having to give the worst moments of my testimony in front of the world’s media, and where the court found that I was subjected to domestic and sexual violence.''

Johnny Depp-Amber Heard trial: Some memorable quotes from the case - Edge News (wionews.com)

"In the U.S., however, I exhausted almost all my resources in advance of and during a trial in which I was subjected to a courtroom that in which abundant, direct evidence that corroborated my testimony was excluded and in which popularity and power mattered more than reason and due process. In the interim I was exposed to a type of humiliation that I simply cannot relive. Even if my US appeal is successful, the best outcome would be a retrial where a new jury would have to consider the evidence again. I simply cannot go through that for a third time."

Under the new agreement, Heard is totally free to talk about her case and she has accepted no guilt, according to Mail Online reports.

After siding with Depp, the court ordered the actress to pay $ 10 million as compensatory damages and $ 5 million, which was reduced to $365,000 in punitive damages. On the other hand, court Heard was awarded $ 2 million as compensatory damages.