Johnny Depp's Priority For Amber Heard Legal Battle Is About 'Bringing The Truth To Light': Lawyer

Johnny Depp got his truth, and that was what he only wanted in his legal battle against his ex-wife, Amber Heard, according to a report.

On Monday, the "Aquaman" star took to Instagram and released a statement to update fans about her legal battle with Depp. She agreed to pay her ex-husband $1 million to end the lawsuit.

Depp's legal counsel, Benjamin Chew and Camille Vasquez, seemingly responded to Heard by releasing a statement after she announced her decision to settle.

"We are pleased to formally close the door on this painful chapter for Mr. Depp, who made clear throughout this process that his priority was about bringing the truth to light," they said in a statement to People.

The lawyers also stressed that the June 1 verdict favoring Depp has remained "fully in place," and Heard's decision to pay the "Pirates of the Caribbean" star served as her agreement to how the defamation case concluded.

"The jury's unanimous decision and the resulting judgment in Mr. Depp's favor against Ms. Heard remain fully in place," they added. "The payment of $1 million — which Mr. Depp is pledging and will (actually) donate to charities — reinforces Ms. Heard's acknowledgment of the conclusion of the legal system's rigorous pursuit for justice."

However, Heard clarified in her statement on Instagram that "after a great deal of deliberation," the decision to settle was "difficult" and was never her choice.

"It's important for me to say that I never chose this," she wrote. "I defended my truth, and in doing so, my life, as I knew it, was destroyed."

"This is not an act of concession. There are no restrictions or gags with respect to my voice moving forward," she added. "I make this decision having lost faith in the American legal system, where my unprotected testimony served as entertainment and social media fodder."

Heard added that she could not "re-live" the humiliation and go through another trial for the third time. She decided to spend her time productively and purposefully.

"In settling this case, I am also choosing the freedom to dedicate my time to the work that helped me heal after my divorce; work that exists in realms n which I feel seen, heard and believed, and in which I know I can affect change."

Heard expressed her intention to appeal the verdict in June, weeks after Depp's major legal win. The jury awarded the "Fantastic Beasts" star $15 million in damages, which later was reduced to $10.35 million, after finding out that Heard defamed him in her 2018 Washington Post op-ed.

"As stated in yesterday's congressional hearings, you don't ask for a pardon if you are innocent. And, you don't decline to appeal if you know you are right," her spokesperson said in a statement to Entertainment Tonight.

At the time, legal expert Julie Rendelman said that filing an appeal would be costly. An anonymous source told ET that the "London Fields" actress was "not in a good place and is worried in general and financially speaking."

Due to Heard's decision to appeal, Depp also decided to appeal the $2 million payout awarded to her for her countersuit.

"Mr. Depp ended up filing his own appeal, so that the court could have the full record," Vasquez said of why her client decided to appeal the verdict. "And [Heard] insists on continuing to litigate this matter, and we have to protect our client's interest," Vasquez said on "CBS Mornings."

In November, Depp's team filed an appeal, arguing that the counterclaim was "erroneous" and Depp should not be held liable for comments made by his attorney, Adam Waldman.

"Mr. Waldman is an independent contractor, whose allegedly tortious conduct is not automatically attributable to Mr. Depp," and "no evidence of Mr. Waldman's actual malice was presented at trial" by Heard's team.

"Ms. Heard presented no evidence at trial that Mr. Depp was personally involved in directing or making any of the three Waldman Statements. Indeed, Mr. Depp testified that he had never even seen the Waldman Statements prior to the filing of the Counterclaim in August of 2020," the documents stated.