One year after the start of Johnny Depp and Amber Heard’s highly publicized defamation trial, CNN has learned from sources close to the actors that the former couple has moved on from their legal battle.
Their dramatic televised trial in Virginia began last April and concluded in June, when the jury in the case found both Heard and Depp liable for defamation in their lawsuits against each other. Depp was awarded $10 million in compensatory damages and $5 million dollars in punitive damages. The jury awarded Heard $2 million in compensatory damages and no money for punitive damages.
In December, Heard announced that she and Depp had settled their defamation suit, writing on Instagram 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.
Damages owed to Depp by Heard were reduced to $1 million as part of the agreement, which Depp’s attorneys said in a statement at the time he pledged to donate to charity.
“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,” said Depp’s attorneys Benjamin Chew and Camille Vasquez.
CNN has contacted representatives for Heard and Depp to inquire if the settlement and charitable payments have been made.
More recently, both actors have been photographed spending time in Europe, with Depp in England and Heard on the island of Mallorca in Spain.
“After the trial Johnny started working on a new film project and he’s been touring with his band,” an individual close to Depp told CNN. “Everything is going really great.”
A source close to Heard confirmed she was living on the Spanish island with her daughter and partner, Bianca Butti.
“She’s just focused on being a mom right now,” the individual close to Heard told CNN. “The trial took an emotional toll on her and she just wanted to get away from the noise and disappear from Hollywood.”
Heard’s next movie project is “Aquaman 2,” which is due out in December. During her testimony last summer, she stated that she believed her role had been greatly reduced in the film due to negative publicity around her split from Depp. (The two stars were married from 2015 to 2016.) Warner Bros., the studio behind the “Aquaman” franchise, declined to comment on the matter at the time. (CNN and Warner Bros. are both part of Warner Bros. Discovery.)
Depp has been touring and performing with his band Hollywood Vampires. His next film project is starring as King Louis XV in the film “Jeanne Du Barry,” set to premiere at the Cannes Film Festival on May 16.