5 Aug – After continuous disappointments, Johnny Depp finally clutched a win in his case against ex-wife Amber Heard, specifically on the issue of the actress' supposed donation to the ACLU. A New York judge has recently granted a petition from the "Pirates of the Caribbean" star for the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) to release documents confirming that the "Aquaman" star has donated the entirety of her USD 7 million divorce settlement, as she has pledged earlier. It is noted that Depp lost a libel lawsuit in London against UK publisher The Sun, which labelled him 'wife beater" in 2018 amid Heard's accusation of abuse against him.
The judge who sided with Heard in the libel lawsuit, claimed that one of the contributing factors to believing the actress was the said donation, stating that Depp's claim that she married him for money could not be true if she donated the full divorce settlement to charity. Depp and his lawyers believe this donation to be false, calling it a 'calculated and manipulative lie', with his lawyer Andrew Caldecott stating that one of Heard's intended charitable beneficiaries, the Children's Hospital Los Angeles has written to the actor's business adviser saying that Heard has not made any payments. "Mr. Depp is most gratified by the Court's decision," Depp's attorney Benjamin Chew said in a statement recently, though the actor himself has made no direct statement of his own since the news. It is noted that Depp was forced to resign from "Fantastic Beasts" due to the said scandal, while Heard is currently filming "Aquaman 2".