Amber Heard Makes 'Very Difficult Decision' Regarding Defamation Case

Amber Heard is making the "very difficult decision" to settle the defamation case from the highly-publicized trial with Johnny Depp earlier this year.

After a "great deal of deliberation," the Aquaman actress made the announcement on her Instagram on Monday (December 19) in a lengthy statement where she wrote about the impacts of being vilified by social media in the trial that gripped the nation earlier this year. Depp sued his ex-wife for defamation in a Virginia court following a 2018 op-ed where she claimed to be a victim of domestic abuse. In June, the court ruled in his favor and he was awarded $10.4 million in damages.

"It's important for me to say that I never chose this," she wrote. "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 and 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."

Heard said she ultimately came to the decision after losing faith in the American legal system, saying her "unprotected testimony served as entertainment and social media fodder." She added that felt more protected during the first defamation trial in the U.K. in 2020 where she was "vindicated by a robust, impartial and fair system."

Heard's decision to settle comes weeks after she filed an appeal on the Virginia court ruling where she was originally ordered to pay her ex over $10 million. As part of the settlement, she will instead pay Depp $1 million, per TMZ.

"Time is precious and I want to spend my time productively and purposefully," she said. "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."

She continued, "I will not be threatened, disheartened or dissuaded by what happened from speaking the truth. No one can and no one will take that from me. My voice forever remains the most valuable asset I have."

Read Heard's entire statement below.