Amber Heard has finally paid Johnny Depp the $1million settlement she owed him after their bitter legal battle – as the Pirates of the Caribbean star vows to split it five ways among his favorite charities.
Depp and his ex-wife eventually settled their defamation claims against each other in December after five years of furious legal battles.
Heard, who will return to the big screen as she debuts her new movie In The Fire at a film festival in Italy later this month, had alleged she was a victim of domestic violence during her 15-month marriage to Depp.
While a courtroom in London found in Heard’s favor, a a second case in Fairfax, Virginia, last year came out on Depp’s side.
After Heard was ordered to pay $10million in compensatory damages and $5million (later reduced to $365,000) in punitive damages, and Depp told to hand $2million in defamation damages, the former couple’s legal teams eventually came to an agreement.
Now, six months on from one of the most bitter Hollywood divorces in modern times, TMZ reports that Depp has finally received his $1million from Heard’s insurance company.
The outlet reports that the money will be divided evenly, $200,000 each, across Depp’s five favorite non-profits.
The charities range from organizations helping sick children with life-threatening illnesses and providing housing for deprived communities.
The five non-profits Depp will choose to donate the money to are: Make-A-Film Foundation, The Painted Turtle, Red Feather, Tetiaroa Society and the Amazonia Fund Alliance.
Sources have told TMZ that Depp has chosen Painted Turtle and Tetiaroa Society as a homage to two heroes in his lives, the respective founders Paul Newman and Marlon Brando.
He has chosen Make-A-Film, a charities which grants kids wishes from those within the acting world, because he has done a short movie with them in the past.
Red Feather and Amazonia focus on helping indigenous communities maintain their culture and heritage through shelters and large-scale infrastructure projects.
Despite the bitter dispute, Depp has always insisted he was not trying to get money off his ex-wife but rather to clear his name and reputation.
As both actors attempt to restore their lives, Depp has been spotted at Cannes Film Festival and more recently being mobbed by fans ahead of his Hollywood Vampires gig in Istanbul over the weekend.
While Depp took center stage on the red carpet at the Cannes Film Festival to mark the debut of his new movie Jeanne du Barry, Heard was pictured stepping out for a walk with her daughter in Madrid, Spain, last month.
The actress was pictured on the daytime stroll after DailyMail.com exclusively reported earlier this month that she has retreated from the U.S. – and the hustle and bustle of Hollywood – in the wake of her ex-husband Depp’s mostly successful defamation trial against her in Virginia last year.
Now, she has set up camp in a home just outside Madrid with her daughter.
It was unclear whether Heard will attempt to step back into Hollywood, but she will appear in the upcoming thriller In The Fire, which is set to premiere at the 69th Taormina Film Festival in Italy later this month. It will be the first time she is on the big screen since the defamation trial.
While Depp has made several public appearances, DailyMail.com revealed last week that the actor has absolutely no plans to ever work with film giant Disney again.
Despite furious speculation about the actor’s potential return to the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise – which reports suggested could earn him up to $20 million – Depp is, sources close to him say he is done with Disney because he is still furious over the way the studio unceremoniously ‘dropped him’ when his ex-wife accused him of abuse.
Although he said in Cannes that he doesn’t feel boycotted by Hollywood, Depp is angry about the way that the domestic abuse allegations played out and has decided that focusing on a life away from the industry is the best thing for him.
After years of legal battles against Heard, Depp is concentrating on music, art, and directing arthouse films.
Thousands of fans sang to Depp in Romania as the film star celebrated his 60th birthday last week by kicking off his band’s European tour in Bucharest.
He thanked Hollywood Vampires fans for the ‘beautiful gesture’, adding that it was ‘the largest happy birthday song I’ve ever heard’.