Amber Heard Decides To Settle Johnny Depp Defamation Case

Actress Amber Heard decided to settle the defamation case brought against her by her ex-husband Johnny Depp.

Although Heard's new legal team filed an appeal late last month, it seems she had a change of heart.

On Monday, December 19, she took to social media to announce that she was settling the defamation case brought against her by the "Pirates of the Caribbean" star.

The "Aquaman" actress posted four slides on Instagram to close the book on the defamation trial, which could have gone on for years.

"After a great deal of deliberation I have made a very difficult decision to settle the defamation case brought against me by my ex-husband in Virginia," she began. "It's important for me to say that I never chose this. I defended my truth and in doing so my life as I knew it was destroyed."

"The vilification I have faced on social media is an amplified version of the ways in which women are re-victimised when they come forward," she continued. "Now I finally have an opportunity to emancipate myself from something I attempted to leave over six years ago and on terms I can agree to. I have made no admission. This is not an act of concession. There are no restrictions or gags with respect to my voice moving forward."

"I make this decision having lost faith in the American legal system, where my unprotected testimony served as entertainment and social media fodder," she continued. "When I stood before a judge in the UK, I was vindicated by a robust, impartial and fair system, where I was protected from having to give the worst moments of my testimony in front of the world's media, and where the court found that I was subjected to domestic and sexual violence."

"In the US, however, I exhausted almost all my resources in advance of and during a trial in which I was subjected to a courtroom in which abundant, direct evidence that corroborated my testimony was excluded and in which popularity and power mattered more than reason and due process," she went on. "In the interim I was exposed to a type of humiliation that I simply cannot re-live. Even if my US appeal is successful, the best outcome would be a re-trial where a new jury would have to consider the evidence again. I simply cannot go through that for a third time."

"Time is precious and I want to spend my time productively and purposefully," Heard wrote. "For too many years I have been caged in an arduous and expensive legal process, which has shown itself unable to protect me and my right to free speech. I cannot afford to risk an impossible bill - one that is not just financial, but also psychological, physical and emotional."

"Women shouldn't have to face abuse or bankruptcy for speaking her truth, but unfortunately it is not uncommon," she continued. "In settling this case I am also choosing the freedom to dedicate my time to the work that helped me heal after my divorce; work that exists in realms in which I feel seen, heard and believed, and in which I know I can effect change."

"I will not be threatened, disheartened or dissuaded by what happened from speaking the truth," she added. "No one can and no one will take that from me. My voice forever remains the most valuable asset I have."

"I'd like to thank my outstanding appellate and original trial teams for their relentless hard work. I want to thank everyone who has supported me and I turn my attention to the growing support I've felt and seen publicly in the months since the trial, and the efforts that have been made to show solidarity with my story," Heard went on.

"Any survivor knows that the ability to tell their story often feels like the only relief, and I cannot find enough words to tell you the hope your belief in me inspires, not just for me, but for all of you," she added.

She wrapped up her lengthy post, writing, "Thank you. See you soon."

According to TMZ, Heard will only have to pay Depp $1 million now; however, sources told the outlet that the money will come from her insurance company. At this time, Johnny Depp has yet to publicly respond to the settlement.