On December 19, 2022, Amber Heard will pay Johnny Depp the remaining balance of the $10 million in damages she was ordered to pay him. However, the payment will not come from Heard’s own personal funds, but rather from her insurance company.
The payment is the result of a settlement between the two former spouses, which was reached in August of 2020. The settlement was the culmination of a long-running legal battle between the two actors, which began in May of 2016 when Depp filed a $50 million defamation lawsuit against Heard. The lawsuit was in response to an op-ed Heard wrote for The Washington Post in December of 2018, in which she described her experience as a victim of domestic abuse.
The settlement required Heard to pay Depp $10 million in damages, as well as a public apology. The apology was issued in November of 2020, and now the payment is due. However, instead of Heard having to pay the full amount out of her own pocket, her insurance company will be covering the cost.
This is not the first time Heard has relied on her insurance company to cover a legal expense. In 2018, her insurance company paid out $450,000 to cover the cost of her legal fees in the defamation case.
The payment of the $10 million is a significant milestone in the long-running legal battle between Heard and Depp. While the two actors may never be on friendly terms, the payment of the damages is a sign that the dispute is finally coming to an end.