According to the American Civil Liberties Union
Amber Heard said in 2016 that she intended to donate the entire $7 million divorce settlement she received from Johnny Depp to charity, with half going to the American Civil Liberties Union and half to Children’s Hospital Los Angeles.
It Was Revealed That Amber Heard Had “Financial Difficulties”. Aclu Says
Amber Heard has yet to pay the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) the $3.5 million she previously pledged as part of her divorce settlement, according to Terence Dougherty, chief operating officer of the ACLU.
A pre-recorded statement played in court Thursday said Heard, 36, had promised to donate half of the $7 million settlement she received in her divorce from Johnny Depp to the ACLU, while the rest of the money was to be donated to Children’s Hospital Los Angeles, according to Dougherty’s testimony.
According to him, the ACLU (a non-profit organization that defends individual rights and freedoms) had only received $1.3 million on his behalf by the time the testimony was recorded in December 2021.
According to Dougherty, when payments were not made in 2018, the ACLU contacted Heard in 2019 to inquire about future payments. “We found out about his financial problems,” he added.
Dougherty also explained that lawyers from the American Civil Liberties Union had helped write and edit Heard’s essay on surviving domestic violence, which is at the heart of the court case. Depp, 58, issuing Heard for defamation, although she did not specifically mention it in the article.
Neither Heard nor her lawyers have spoken out about the case and did not immediately respond to a request for comment from the media.
The couple met in 2011 on the set of the film The Rum Diary and later married in February 2015. After Heard filed a domestic violence lawsuit against him in May 2016, claiming he had abused her, the couple ended their relationship. Depp denied the accusations and the couple reached an out-of-court agreement for divorce in August 2016.
At the time of their divorce agreement, Depp and Heard released a joint statement saying, “Although our relationship has been very passionate and at times stormy, it has always been driven by love. Neither party has made any false accusations for financial gain. There was never any intention to physically or emotionally harm anyone. Amber wishes Johnny nothing but the best in the future. Amber plans to donate the financial proceeds of her divorce to charity.
Shortly afterwards, Heard issued a statement explaining that “the amount she received in her divorce is $7 million, and $7 million of that will be donated to charity.”
“In addition to all the funds I have given to date and will continue to give,” she said at the time. In the injunction and divorce agreement, she said that money did not and had never played any part in her life, except to donate to charity and help those who could not defend themselves.
She added that her donation would be split between a number of charities “specifically focused on ending violence against women” and Children’s Hospital Los Angeles, which she had previously acknowledged for a seven-figure donation in 2018.
Last year, Depp won permission from a judge to force the ACLU to reveal whether Heard had donated the full amount she had pledged, and the organisation was ordered to produce documents to confirm the donation.
At a hearing in July, Heard’s lawyer, Elaine Bredehoft, said the actress still intended to make the donations, but did not give a timetable for when she would do so. At the time, Bredehoft explained: “[Heard] has always said that she intends to continue to donate the full $7 million, but she is not in a position to do so at this time. She will complete the donation as soon as she is able to do so. She has, however, made a significant contribution.”