Actor Amber Heard arrives in the courtroom at the Fairfax County Circuit Court in Fairfax, Virginia, on Wednesday. Photo / AP
Amber Heard has been accused in court of paying less than half of what she promised to donate to charity out of her US$7m ($10.7m) divorce settlement from Johnny Depp.
Depp is suing his ex-wife for defamation over a column she wrote for the Washington Post in December 2018. In the article, Heard described herself as a "public figure representing domestic abuse". Heard, 36, never named Depp, 59, but he claims she clearly implied that he was a domestic abuser and is seeking $50 million ($77m) in damages.
Heard countersued, asking for $100 million ($154m) and claiming she suffered "rampant physical violence and abuse" at his hands.
Terence Dougherty, from the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), testified at the high profile trial in Fairfax County, Virginia on Thursday
Dougherty told the court that Heard is an ACLU ambassador for gender-based violence issues. He said the non-profit organisation's communications team had drafted the op-ed under the actor's name following discussions with her about her "personal experiences".
Heard reached a divorce settlement with Depp in 2016 and had previously announced she would donate her entire US$7 million payout to charity, splitting it between the Children's Hospital of Los Angeles and the ACLU.
On Thursday, Dougherty testified that Heard had promised to donate US$3.5m ($5.3m) of her US$7m divorce settlement to the organisation but that it had only received US$1.2m to-date.
That left US$2.3m owing.
Dougherty said US$350,000 was paid directly by Heard; US$100,000 was paid via Depp; US$500,000 was paid via a donor-advised fund; and US$350,000 was also paid via a donor-advised fund.
Dougherty said the organisation contacted Heard in 2019 about her "next instalment of her giving but we learned she was having financial difficulties".
Terence Dougherty, the general counsel and COO of the #ACLU, said in a prerecorded testimony that #AmberHeard did not donate $3.5 million to the organization but only $1.3 million. @LawCrimeNetwork pic.twitter.com/n0a2N2v8Yo
— Law&Crime Network (@LawCrimeNetwork) April 28, 2022
The court heard it was understood — based on an email from billionaire Elon Musk who was connected to the donor-advised fund that contributed US$850,000 on behalf of Ms Heard — that the US$3.5m would be paid over the course of 10 years, although this was never confirmed.
Heard is yet to testify and provide her version of events but she is expected to take the stand next week.
Depp filed the defamation complaint in the US after losing a separate libel case in London in November 2020 that he brought against the Sun for calling him a "wife-beater".
To clarify all of this, and to note how Elon Musk is related, Dougherty testifies Heard's Vanguard donation was facilitated through Musk. He says this stems from a previous relationship Musk had with an ACLU representative.#JohnnyDepp #AmberHeard @LawCrimeNetwork pic.twitter.com/1tdouVrsnD
— Sierra Gillespie (@sierragillespie) April 28, 2022
On Wednesday, Depp and Heard's former agent Christian Carino said it was never explicitly stated by Disney that Depp was being dropped from the Pirates franchise because of the domestic abuse accusations but it was "understood".
He also revealed he set up a meeting between the pair two months after Heard filed a restraining order against Depp. Carino said Heard was dating Musk during the time she was attempting to reconcile with her ex-husband and he had advised her dating famous men meant things would be public.
Depp, testifying earlier on his own behalf, blamed the accusations by Heard for the loss of his lucrative role in Pirates as Captain Jack Sparrow.
Both Heard and Depp, who met in 2009 and were married from 2015 to 2016, have accused the other of physical violence during their relationship. They have both denied the claims.
In court papers, Heard has accused Depp of abusing her throughout their relationship, alleging that he slapped her, kicked her, headbutted her and tore clumps of hair out of her scalp.
Earlier, Depp was presented with several damning text messages that he sent to Heard, friends and associates during the couple's relationship.
"Let's burn Amber," read one text sent by Depp to his friend Paul Bettany on June 11, 2013.
"Let's drown her before we burn her. I will f**k her burnt corpse afterwards to make sure she's dead".