Amber Heard admits she didn’t donate $7m divorce money to charity

The US actress has admitted in court that she didn’t donate her $7 million divorce money to charity, despite previously testifying she had.

Amber Heard admitted she has not fulfilled her pledge to donate her entire $US7 million ($A10 million) divorce money to charity.

The Aquaman actress, 36, was cross-examined by Johnny Depp’s legal team in a Virginia court on Tuesday, when she testified she had been unable to give away the full settlement due to the $US50 million ($A70 million) lawsuit brought upon her by Depp.

This is despite Heard publicly claiming on two occasions the money had already been donated, the court heard.

Depp’s lawyer Camilla Vasquez presented a clip of Heard appearing on a Denmark talk show just after their split in 2016, in which the actress said, “$7 million in total was donated.”

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Actor Amber Heard testifies in the courtroom at the Fairfax County Circuit Courthouse on Tuesday. Picture: Steve Helber / POOL / AFP

She said she donated half to the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and the Children’s Hospital of Los Angeles.

Heard also made the same claim during her testimony at Depp’s libel case in the UK against The Sun newspaper last year, which the Pirates of the Caribbean actor ultimately lost.

After the court heard the clip of Heard speaking on the talk show, Ms Vasquez questioned, “But you hadn’t donated your entire $7 million settlement to charity at this point?”

Heard responded that the statement was “incorrect”, clarifying she “pledged the entirety.”

Ms Vasquez further pressed the actress, asking, “Try to answer my question, sitting here today, you have not donated the $7 million divorce settlement to charity?”

Heard responded, “I use pledge and donation synonymous with one another,” to which Ms Vasquez shot back, “I don’t.”

Johnny Depp is suing his ex-wife for defamation. Picture: Steve Helber / POOL / AFP

The court has heard that Heard has donated $US1.3 million ($A1.8 million) to date to the ACLU, $US2.2 million ($A3.15 million) short of her pledge.

It was also revealed Heard’s ex-boyfriend, billionaire Tesla founder Elon Musk, covered nearly half of that donation.

ACLU Chief Operating Officer Terence Dougherty earlier told the court that $US350,000 ($A501,000) was paid directly by Heard, $US100,000 ($A143,000) was paid via Depp, and $US500,000 ($A717,000) was paid via a donor-advised fund believed to be set up by Musk.

Amber Heard’s ex-boyfriend Elon Musk donated almost half of the actress’ current donation to the ACLU, the court heard.

A further $US350,000 ($A501,000) was also paid via another donor-advised fund.

According to Mr Dougherty, the ACLU reached out to Heard in 2019 about her “next instalment of her giving but we learned she was having financial difficulties.”

Heard’s cross-examination will continue on Wednesday.

Depp is suing his ex-wife for $US50 million ($A70 million), claiming she defamed him in a 2018 Washington Post op-ed in which she described herself as the victim of domestic and sexual violence.

Originally published as Amber Heard admits she didn’t donate $7m divorce money to charity