Johnny Depp donates all of ex-wife Amber Heard's $1 million settlement money to charity

Johnny Depp is donating the settlement money he received from his ex-wife Amber Heard to charity. The actor will reportedly distribute portions of the $1 million settlement from Amber to five different charities, with $200,000 going to each charity. The charities that he has selected range from those that benefit sick children to those that provide safe housing for different communities.

On Tuesday(13 June), a source was quoted as saying in a CNN report that Johnny Depp has chosen five charities to donate the settlement funds, which include the Make-A-Film Foundation, The Painted Turtle, Red Feather, Marlon Brando's Tetiaroa Society charity, and the Amazonia Fund Alliance. The actor plans to donate $200,000 to each of the five charities, according to the source.

As per a report by Entertainment Tonight, Make-A-Film, one of the charities chosen by Johnny Depp, pairs actors, writers, directors and producers with children, who are battling life-threatening or serious illnesses. The second charity, The Painted Turtle, is an organisation that provides a life-changing free camp experience for sick children.

Another charity Red Feather partners with Indigenous communities to develop and implement lasting and impactful housing solutions. Meanwhile, Teitaroa Society ensures island and coastal communities have a future. The fifth charity Johnny will donate to is Amazonia Fund Alliance, which helps to finance the projects of Brazilian non-profit organisations.

The Hollywood actors married in a secret ceremony at their Los Angeles home in 2015, after dating for several years. Amber filed for divorce from Johnny on May 23, 2016, and secured a temporary restraining order against him. She said Johnny had physically abused her during their relationship, and that it happened most often, while he was high on drugs or alcohol.

Johnny filed a $50 million defamation lawsuit against Amber in March 2019 after her Washington Post op-ed, where she wrote about being a victim of domestic violence. Johnny's name was not mentioned in the article. However, the story came out as their divorce case made headlines.

Their trial's jury in June of 2022 awarded Johnny $10 million in compensatory damages and $5 million in punitive damages. The punitive damages were later reduced to $350,000.

While Johnny won the defamation trial against his ex-wife, the jury also found he was liable, citing comments previously made by his lawyer, in which he had referred to Amber's claims as a 'hoax'. Amber was awarded $2 million in compensatory damages.