(CNN) — Amber Heard has reached a settlement in the defamation lawsuit with her ex-husband, Johnny Depp, according to a statement posted on her verified Instagram account.
Heard said he “has not made any admissions” and that the deal is “not an act of concession.” He pointed to his experience with the American legal system as part of his motivation for deciding to settle the case, claiming that “abundant direct corroborating evidence [su] testimony were excluded” and that “popularity and power mattered more than reason and due process.
“I make this decision having lost faith in the American legal system, where my unprotected testimony served as entertainment and cannon fodder for social media,” Heard said.
Amber Heard, here in June, says she’s settled a defamation case with her ex-husband, Johnny Depp. Credit: Win McNamee/Getty Images
The actress filed an appeal in the defamation case earlier this month, but Heard said in her statement Monday that “even if [su] appeal in the United States is successful, the best outcome would be a new trial in which a new jury would have to consider the evidence again.”
CNN has contacted representatives for Heard and Depp for comment.
“I just can’t go through it a third time,” Heard said in her post, adding that she wants to spend her time “productively and with purpose,” and can’t afford to “risk an impossible bill, which isn’t just financial but also psychological, physical and emotional.
Depp accused Heard of defaming him in a 2018 opinion piece he wrote for The Washington Post.
The jury awarded Depp $10 million in compensatory damages and $5 million in punitive damages. A Virginia judge reduced punitive damages to $350,000 due to legal limits, CNN previously reported.
The jury also awarded Heard $2 million in compensatory damages and no money in punitive damages for his cross-suit, which claimed defamation for statements Depp’s lawyer made about his allegations of abuse.
“Women shouldn’t have to face mistreatment or bankruptcy for telling the truth, but unfortunately it’s not uncommon,” Heard said. “I’m not going to let what happened threaten me, discourage me, or dissuade me from telling the truth. No one can and no one will take it from me. My voice will forever remain my most valuable asset.”
— CNN’s Zenebou Sylla and Tavleen Tarrant contributed reporting.
