In the civil case of actor Johnny Depp (58) against his ex-wife Amber Heard (36), more witnesses spoke yesterday. On the eleventh day of the trial, Terence Dougherty of the civil rights organization American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) testified that Heard had not yet made previous donation promises.
The actress announced in 2016 after her divorce from Depp that she would donate her $7 million settlement in full, half to the ACLU and half to a children’s hospital in Los Angeles.
Of the $3.5 million promised, only $350,000 was received directly from the actress, Dougherty said in a video interview recorded in December.
“Total only 1.3 million received”
Another $500,000 was donated in her name from a fund the ACLU traced back to Elon Musk. The actress was briefly involved with the tech billionaire after Depp split.
Depp deposited $100,000 and there was an anonymous donation of $350,000. In 2019, after missing payments, they learned that Heard had “financial problems,” Dougherty said. Of the promised $3.5 million, only $1.3 million has been received.
Heard not yet on the stand
Heard has yet to testify in the Fairfax County, Virginia trial. According to US media reports, she could take the witness stand next week. In 2016, the actress filed for divorce from Depp after just 15 months of marriage. She accused the “Pirates of the Caribbean” star of domestic violence.
Depp testified on oath that he never hit Heard. In his civil lawsuit, he alleges that his ex-wife made false statements in a 2018 op-ed about domestic violence published by the Washington Post.
That damaged his reputation. Depp is not mentioned by name in the article. He is suing for around 50 million dollars (a good 45 million euros) in damages for defamation. The process, which began on April 12, is expected to last several weeks.