The controversial getup came more than a year after Depp, 60, took Heard, 37, to court over an essay she penned for the Washington Post in which she described herself as a “public figure representing domestic abuse.” During the weekslong trial, both Depp and Heard testified that they were abused by the other over the course of their marriage.
A jury in Virginia ultimately sided with Depp, awarding him $10 million in compensatory damages and $5 million in punitive damages, which was later reduced to $350,000 per the state’s limit. Meanwhile, Heard was awarded the actress $2 million in compensatory damages as part of her countersuit against Depp.
Though Heard—who wed Depp in 2015 and finalized their divorce 2017—initially filed an appeal, she announced her decision to settle the defamation case in December. “I make this decision having lost faith in the American legal system, where my unprotected testimony served as entertainment and social media fodder,” the Aquaman star said in a statement at the time. “In settling this case, I am choosing the freedom to dedicate my time to the work that helped me heal after my divorce; work that exists in realms in which I feel seen, heard and believed, and which I know I can effect change.”
