Amber Heard And Johnny Depp: Drama Continues Over Divorce Donation
The demise of relationship between Amber Heard and Johnny Depp came as a surprise to many. Yet even more surprising were Heard’s allegations against Depp concerning physical abuse and domestic violence. Back in May the actress filed for divorce from the Black Mass star, while only a week later requesting a restraining order against Depp, noting that the actor had been violent towards her throughout their marriage.
Just this month the former couple finally came to an agreement over their divorce settlement, and Heard dropped the accusations of physical violence committed by Depp, instead claiming that the two had a passionate relationship that led to heated arguments, but that Depp never intentionally harmed Amber. Following such claims, the pair reached a settlement agreement and Amber was said to be paid $7 million by Depp, of which she stated would be given entirely to charity.
#BREAKING Amber Heard — Calls BS On Johnny’s Charity Donation… Now You Owe Double https://t.co/c22aROJKKI
— TMZ (@TMZ) August 25, 2016
New information indicates that Heard is now demanding that Depp doubles the amount that is paid to the charity following their settlement. The actress pledged to donate the $7 million settlement amount to two separate charities for abused women and ill children. However, Depp has begun to donate the money directly to the charities on Heard’s behalf, instead of giving the money to her first. This has led Amber to accuse Johnny of trying to reduce his total bill. As a repercussion, Amber now says that he must now “honour the full amount by donating $14m to charity,” BBC shares.
On Thursday, Depp shares that he had indeed paid the first installments of the initial $7 million sum that he was expected to pay, directly to the charities “in the name of Amber Heard.” Heard’s spokeswoman responded to the actions, stating the new terms that Heard would like to see Johnny meet.
“Amber Heard appreciates Johnny Depp’s novel interest in supporting two of her favourite charities, the ACLU (American Civil Liberties Union) for domestic violence and the Children’s Hospital of Los Angeles. This is great and unexpected news. However, if Johnny wishes to change the settlement agreement, we must insist that he honour the full amount by donating $14m to charity, which, after accounting for his tax deduction, is equal to his $7m payment obligation to Amber. We would also insist that the full amount be paid immediately and not drawn out over many years. Anything less would be a transparent attempt by Johnny’s counsel, Laura Wasser and Patti Glaser, to reduce their client’s true payment by half under the guise of newfound concern for charities that he has never previously supported.”
Depp’s own spokesman responded and confirmed that Johnny had sent the first payment to the two charities, sharing that the amounts, when combined following the final payments in Amber Heard’s name, will honor the full amount of Amber’s intended pledge amount. The spokesman added, “Ms Heard’s generosity in giving to these wonderful causes is deeply respected.”
Amber Heard accuses Johnny Depp of using their divorce settlement for tax breaks https://t.co/W4oUWUfT0F
— TIME.com (@TIME) August 26, 2016
The purpose of Amber’s insisting that Johnny pay double the amount after the star directly donated the $7 million in her name is due to the fact that charity donations are usually tax deductible up to 50 percent of someone’s salary in the United States. For this reason, Heard sees Depp’s direct donation as a means to see a return on the charitable pledge. Amber’s clear preference was for the Pirates of the Caribbean star to send the amount directly to her so that she could donate the amount herself.
As noted, Heard filed for divorce in May of 2016 and later successfully was granted a restraining order after accusing the star of being violent towards her on a number of occasions. The divorce settlement was only recently agreed upon.
[Photo by Kevin Winter/Getty Images]
