Why is Johnny Depp going after the ACLU over their Amber Heard piece?

Johnny Depp and Amber Heard are making headlines again as they both struggle to save their reputations after back-and-forth accusations of relationship abuse. This time, Johnny Depp is suing the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) with the goal to obtain financial documents so he can undo a judge’s ruling in London from last year after accusing Amber Heard of defamation. Let’s take a look at the messy details here. 

All the drama

As of now, Johnny Depp is trying to see if Amber Heard had truly donated millions of dollars to charity like she promised she would by suing ACLU, the organization that was supposed to receive the cash. Depp and his legal team are trying to prove that Heard perjured herself in court when the actress said she donated $7 million to both the ACLU and Children’s Hospital LA. 

This payment was something she vowed to do as part of the pair’s divorce settlement. Back in August of 2016, ACLU released a statement thanking Amber Heard for pledging to donate half of the $7 million settlement. Months later, they stated the actress had donated $350,000. However, Depp and his legal team are convinced that Elon Musk, whom Heard was dating at the time, made the payment instead. 

Johnny Depp claimed Amber Heard’s charitable deeds contributed to convincing the judge to make their final ruling. If it turns out that the money that was donated wasn’t actually hers, Depp stated he believes it could help his second defamation case in the United States. The first case in London ruled that The Sun did not defame the actor with their 2018 “wife-beating” headline. 

Johnny’s claims

Johnny Depp claimed he believes that Amber Heard only donated around $450,000 from her own wallet, and states that the ACLU is refusing to turn over the documents on this matter. The court papers state that the actor “respectfully requests that this Court enter an order directing the ACLU Witnesses to fully comply with the Subpoenas”. Depp wants the docs for the ongoing $50 million defamation lawsuit against Heard. 

The subpoenas are for “discovery concerning any donations to the ACLU Foundation by Ms. Heard or in her name, and/or any public statements related to such donations; communications with Ms. Heard or those acting on her behalf concerning her relationship with Mr. Depp and divorce from Mr. Depp”. 

The papers also state the subpoenas are for “discovery concerning Ms. Heard’s work as an ‘ambassador’ for the ACLU Foundation and the conception, drafting, and placement of the Op-Ed; and communications with Ms. Heard or those acting on her behalf concerning the Virginia Action and the preparation and submission of the Wizner Declaration”.

Amber Heard’s reponse

In response, Heard and her legal team have claimed the actress has done “nothing dishonest” with her donations to both the ACLU and Children’s Hospital LA, and that the star “pledged to pay over 10 years”, and added that this was a promise “understood” by the ACLU. Her attorneys even gave evidence that shows she did in fact give a total of $950,000 to the ACLU and $850,000 to the Children’s Hospital. 

People announced, “in a written judgment handed down by the Court of Appeal in London, judges Lord Justice Underhill and Lord Justice Dingemans refused the actor’s application for a fresh trial on the grounds that a second hearing was unlikely to produce a different outcome”.

Amber Heard and Johnny Depp first got married in 2015, and about a year later in May 2016, Heard filed a domestic violence restraining order against the actor and accused him of abuse. Depp continued to deny the claims, and the two officially settled their divorce out of court in August of 2016. However, the drama is clearly far from over.