Amber Heard admits not giving $3.5m divorce settlement to charity

16 May 2022, 23:53 | Updated: 17 May 2022, 09:55

Amber Heard has admitted she did not give $3.5 million of her divorce settlement to a US civil rights group, despite repeatedly saying she had.

Ms Heard repeatedly said that she had "pledged" the money but said she had not been able to fulfil her obligations due to Mr Depp's lawsuit.

The 36-year-old was questioned by Mr Depp's lawyer Camille Vasquez about the $7 million settlement - half of which she said previously she had paid to the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU).

Terence Dougherty, the ACLU Chief Operating Officer and General Counsel, testified earlier in the case and said that only $1.3million has been donated by Heard, or on her behalf, so far.

In court today Ms Heard admitted she was yet to make the full donation "because Johnny sued me for $50 million in March of 2019".

She also denied that her "new boyfriend," Tesla founder Elon Musk, had paid part of the settlement for her.

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Opening cross examination on the third day of Ms Heard's testimony, Ms Vasquez said why the actor has refused to make eye contact with the actress in court while she has been giving evidence.

She said Johnny Depp is fulfilling a promise he made to Ms Heard that she will "never see his eyes again" after accusing him of being an abuser.

"He cannot look at me," Ms Heard replied.

"He can't."

Asked about her accusations that Mr Depp was an abuser, the actress continued: "He is an abuser... and you can look either of us up online and see who's being abused."

She was questioned by Ms Vasquez about the lack of visible injuries following several incidents, with red carpet photos shown to the jurors.

Ms Heard later admitted that there were no medical records to show that she had suffered the injuries she had previously described as having suffered at the hands of Mr Depp, including being violated with a bottle during an incident in Australia in March 2015.

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Mr Depp is suing Ms Heard over the piece she wrote in The Washington Post, which his lawyers say falsely implies he physically and sexually abused her while they were together.

He has denied all accusations.

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Ms Heard again denied Mr Depp had been the victim in their violent relationship, and reiterated that her 2018 article had not been about him, on Monday.

Concluding her direct evidence earlier, the Aquaman star said that the only person that believes that her op-ed article is about Mr Depp "ironically, is Johnny".

"The only one who thought it was about Johnny is Johnny," she told the court.

"It's about me, it's about what happened to me after Johnny... after I escaped my marriage.

"It's about me and my life and what I endured once I moved on with my life. The only one who made it about him, ironically, is Johnny."

Becoming visibly emotional, she added: "I want to move on with my life... I want Johnny to move on."

She also said she feared she would "literally not survive" her relationship with the actor, as violent episodes between them became more and more normal.

"The monster was now the thing that was normal and not the exception. The violence was now normal and not the exception," she said.

"It was so hard but I knew I had to do it... what if he had taken it too far, I wouldn't be here."

The actress told the court how she had been desperate for a "good night's sleep" and repeatedly asked members of Mr Depp's security team not to let him into the property while she was there overnight.

She said her anxiety had caused her to lose hair and weight and have regular panic attacks.

Ms Heard also denied involvement in an alleged "prank" involving faecal matter that caused Mr Depp to become enraged and physically violent.

She said the actor had become "delusional" when asked about the incident, which happened in April 2016, shortly after her 30th birthday.

The court heard Mr Depp had discovered faecal matter on a bed at one of his properties in Los Angeles and had called Ms Heard about the matter.

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"I don't think that's funny, I don't know what grown woman does. I was also not in a pranking mood," Ms Heard said.

"My life was falling apart. It was not really a jovial time and I don't think that's funny. Period. That's disgusting."

The court heard a suggestion that the faecal matter had come from Mr Depp's Yorkshire terrier Boo, which had "bowel control issues" after ingesting some of the actor's marijuana as a puppy.

Long queues continued to appear outside Fairfax County district courthouse, in Virginia, with some members of the public having queued overnight for a chance to get into the courtroom to observe the proceedings.

Mr Depp has already given evidence and faced cross-examination and has alleged that he was a victim of domestic abuse during the relationship.

The trial continues.