Johnny Depp has won the ACLU Donation Investigation lawsuit against ex-wife Amber Heard. This news is a major victory for Depp as he recently lost his libel case against the Sun newspaper over an article that called him a ‘wife-beater.’
Just after a year of getting married, Heard filed for divorce in 2016 and accused Depp of domestic violence. Depp denied the physical abuse claims and accused Heard of attempting to earn financial compensation.
After reaching a $7 million settlement on August 16, 2016, Heard declared she would donate to two charities, the American Civil Liberties Union and Children’s Hospital in Los Angeles. However, Depp’s lawyers claimed it to be false and wanted to know how much Heard had donated.
They filed a petition in New York Supreme Court for ACLU to reveal the documents proving Heard had paid them pledged sum after ACLU refused to cooperate.
As reported by Dailymail.com, Judge Arthur Engoron granted 23 of the 24 requests in the actor’s ‘motion to compel.’ The only thing refused was a request for documents relating to the actress’s role as a ‘brand ambassador’ for the ACLU.
In January, documents turned over by Children’s Hospital Los Angeles suggested they received only $100,000 – way short of the promised $3.5m ‘gift’. This, however, was directly paid by Depp before Heard’s lawyer stated that the payment should be made directly to Heard and not the charities via Depp.
If proven, the fact that Heard didn’t donate the divorce settlement to charity can further strengthen Depp’s lawsuit claim that she only married him for financial gain.
Depp had filed a $50 million defamation lawsuit against Heard in 2019, which has been delayed several times now, with a trial date set for April 11, 2022. The trial is expected to last about two weeks.
This matter isn’t just another case of ‘celebrity feud.’ Often in gendered cases of violence, women aren’t believed when they stand up against powerful men.
If revealed that Heard lied about her donation and turned out to be the one who abused Depp, it could be seriously detrimental for other women who already face sexism as well as victims of domestic violence who aren’t believed by the courts.
Depp was fired from his roles in Pirates of the Caribbean and Fantastic Beasts due to the accusations made by Heard. Now, fans are understandably upset and angry that Heard, an alleged abuser, admitted to punching Depp on recording, still has her job.
Things have only worsened for Aquaman 2 after producer Peter Safran made an insensitive and arrogant comment on the matter,
One is not unaware of what is going on in the Twitter-verse, but that doesn’t mean you have to react to it or take it as gospel or accede to their wishes. You have to do what’s right for the film, and that’s really where we landed on it.
Peter Safran
The hashtag #BoycottAquaman2 started trending on Twitter shortly after his comment. If Safran really wanted what was ‘right for the film,’ he should’ve considered firing Heard.
Disregarding fans’ opinions in such a disrespectful manner will only make the audience resent a movie more (you know… the same audience who will pay for the tickets that can make or break a film’s revenue).
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