Day 11 of the Depp vs. Heard trial continues, which had a particular focus on the use of wealth amidst settlement. Back in 2016, the divorce settlement was $7 million that Heard got from the actor. She shared how she would donate the full amount to charity, half to the ACLU and half to Children’s Hospital Los Angeles. However, records did not reflect the same.
Depp had pursued the legal route to get ACLU to disclose information on the case, which they initially refused. But back in January, the donated amounts were in black & white. Despite the settlement amount paid since 2016, Terence Dougherty, COO of ACLU, shared that the organization has yet to receive the $3.5 million from Amber Heard.
In Terence’s video deposition, it was revealed that only $1.3 million has been donated by Heard. The breakdown was $350,000 directly from Heard, back in 2016, a $100,000 check from Johnny Depp, $500,000, and $350,000 from two funds. Dougherty shares that the $500,000 payment from the fund was linked to tech billionaire, and former boyfriend of Heard, Elon Musk.
One of the most outrageous things that has been revealed to the court so far is that #AmberHeard never donated her divorce settlement to charity, like she announced publicly, playing the martyr & gaining sympathy. What a terrible person, honestly have no words!
— Millie 💋 (@craftymillie) April 29, 2022
Musk even e-mailed an executive at ACLU in 2016 on behalf of Amber saying that the amount would be donated over 10 years. Dougherty further added how she never signed a pledge made by the organization.
Back in 2019, ACLU expected another installment from the actress, but back then, “we learned she was having financial difficulties” said Dougherty. We can see the Pledge form in the @ThatUmbrella tweet below:
Elon Musk HELPED DESTROY Johnny Depp's LIFE while simping for Amber Heard.
He's allegedly PAYING for Amber Heard's legal now, too, and ALL her witnesses.
What a hero.watch live: https://t.co/021C6kBS2p #JohnnyDeppVsAmberHeard #JohnnyDepp #amberheard pic.twitter.com/baP4TdbpTc
— ThatUmbrellaGuy (@ThatUmbrella) April 28, 2022
Dougherty further talked about the 2018 Op-Ed piece written by Heard, upon which the entire court case began. In that piece, she was identified as “Ambassador of Women’s Rights at ACLU.” She mentioned to the editor of the piece about Depp’s alleged abuse but did not include any direct reference to him in the publication.
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After the publication, Depp went on to face backlash from major career roles and various publications. He even pursued a case against the Sun newspaper for labeling him as “wife-beater” which he lost since there was “sufficient evidence” claiming that he was. Dougherty further added that Musk’s payment was through the Vanguard fund set up to make charitable contributions.
In the December 2018 post, Heard wrote, “two years ago, I became a public figure representing domestic abuse, and I felt the full force of our culture’s wrath for women who speak out.”
Internal communications within the ACLU showed their involvement in the Washington Post. They talked about how she “interweaves her personal story” in a way that the staff writers felt the “fire and rage” in the piece.
Heard’s attorney had asked to remove “a reference to her marriage and divorce” as she had signed an NDA with the divorce settlement.
“Based on my review of prior drafts of the op-ed, I knew that she was referring to Johnny Depp and her marriage,” Dougherty said, simply because the article was clear as day mentioning strains in her personal life. Many media outlets inferred the same meaning and defamed the Pirates of the Caribbean star, Johnny Depp.
The suspicion in court arose when the donation amount was not received, leaving everyone to wonder about her motive behind this. We have yet to have Elon Musk’s take on the subject, especially after his involvement in the process. Stay tuned for more updates on the Heard vs.Depp trial.
