Johnny Depp has received his $1 million settlement from his ex-wife Amber Heard and is set to pay the sum to charities close to his heart.
The former couple was embroiled in a much-publicized court battle last year after Depp, 60, brought the defamation case against Heard, 37, over a 2018 op-ed she had written about being the victim of domestic abuse.
Although Heard did not name Depp in the article, his legal team claimed it falsely accused the Pirates of the Caribbean star of being an abuser.
The pair had initially faced off in court in the UK, where the case was decided in Heard's favor, but went head to head again in the US last year, with the trial being live-streamed daily, and Depp emerged victorious with a unanimous decision from the jury.
Following the six-week trial, Depp was awarded $15 million in total, made up of $10 million in compensatory damages and $5 million in punitive damages.
The pair both launched appeals in the following months but settled the case in December 2022, with both of them dropping their appeals.
Heard said at the time that even if her appeal had been successful, she "simply cannot go through" another public retrial, adding that her settlement was "not an act of concession".
The settlement involved Heard paying $1 million to Depp, which was covered by her insurance, with the actor pledging to donate the money he received to charity.
According to reports by TMZ, Depp has now received the sum and has decided on the charities close to his heart that will receive the money.
According to the publication, the Edwards Scissorhands star has decided to split the money between five charities, which will receive $200,000 each.
The charities Depp has chosen are Make-A-Film Foundation, The Painted Turtle, Red Feather, Tetiaroa Society, and the Amazonia Fund Alliance.
The Make-A-Film foundation is similar to Make-A-Wish and helps children and teenagers who have serious or life-threatening medical conditions to create short film legacies by working with noted actors, writers, and directors. Depp is said to have worked with them on a short film in the past, also.
His donations to The Painted Turtle and Tetiaroa Society are said to be a nod to two of Depp's personal heroes - Paul Newman and Marlon Brando. Newman helped set up The Painted Turtle, which is a summer camp in California for children with chronic or life-limiting illnesses who would otherwise miss out on the chance of going camping. Tetiaroa Society was founded by Brando in order to preserve cultures and ecosystems in island and coastal communities.
Red Feather and Amazonia are focused on helping indigenous communities to be self-sustaining and maintain their heritage across North and South America.
Depp had vowed to donate any money he received from the court case, stating at the time that it was important to him to bring the suit in order to clear his name rather than for any monetary gain at Heard's expense.
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