Amber Heard has admitted to not paying her $3.5 million pledged donation to the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), despite previously claiming to have done so.
The Aquaman star testified in a defamation trial that she was unable to pay due to the actions of her ex-husband, Johnny Depp.
Heard claimed she had yet to turn over the funds to the ACLU because
“Johnny sued me for $50 million in March of 2019”
Amber Heard
She added: “I fully intend to honour all of my pledges. I would love for him to stop suing me so I can.”
Heard’s admission comes after she claimed multiple times that she had already donated the entire settlement to charity.
Back in 2018, the Aquaman star made the claim on the Dutch talk show RTL Late Night.
“Seven million in total was donated. I split it between the ACLU and the Children’s Hospital of Los Angeles,” she told host John de Mol. “I wanted nothing.”
Amber Heard on RTL Late
SpaceX CEO Elon Musk was linked to the donor-advised fund that contributed $850,000 to the ACLU on Heard’s behalf, and Dougherty told the court that, based on an email from Musk, the $3.5 million ($AUD 5 million, £2.8 million) was expected to be paid to the charity over a 10-year period, though the plan was never confirmed.
A thank you note to Heard for her gift, as well as a pledge form and a donation schedule, were submitted to the court.
According to The Independent, Heard did not sign the schedule, but other records show she was aware of the 10-year commitment.
Following her divorce from Depp in 2016, Heard stated that she planned to split her $7 million settlement with the Children’s Hospital of Los Angeles and the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU).
The cross examination of Heard has begun, allowing Depp’s attorneys to scrutinise the Aquaman star’s testimony in court.
