Johnny Depp Never Wanted To 'Destroy' Ex Amber Heard As She Settles Defamation Case, Insider Claims: 'He Just Wanted The Truth'

Months after Amber Heard and Johnny Depp's defamation case was closed in June, the former revealed she will settle.

According to an insider, one of the reasons why the blonde beauty, 36, came to her decision was "both the financial reasons [and] to ensure there wasn't a judgment in place against her — that has significant ramifications."

"This judgment is never going away," the insider added. "[Johnny] has always said he wasn't looking to destroy her. He said it wasn't about money, and it's not! He just wanted the truth."

As OK! previously reported, the Aquaman star — who claimed she was a victim of abuse in a previous op-ed but never named Depp — decided to not appeal the case after all. (In June, Depp, 59, was awarded $10 million in compensatory damages and $5 million in punitive damages, while Heard was awarded $2 million in compensatory damages.)

"It's important for me to say that I never chose this," the mom-of-one began in her statement. "I defended my truth in doing so my life as I knew it was destroyed. The vilification I have faced on social media is an amplified version of the ways women are re-victimised when they come forward. Now I finally have an opportunity to emancipate myself from something I attempted to leave over six years ago and on terms I can agree to," she continued. "I have made no admission. This is not an act of concession. There are no restrictions or gags with respect to my voice moving forward."

"The jury's unanimous decision and the resulting judgement 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 acknowledgement of the conclusion of the legal system's rigorous pursuit for justice."

"When I stood before a judge in the U.K., I was vindicated by a robust, impartial and fair system, where I was protected from having to give the worst moments of my testimony in front of the world's media, and where the court found that I was subjected to domestic and sexual violence," Heard added, referring to her testimony in Depp's U.K. libel case against The Sun in November 2020.

"In the U.S., however, I exhausted almost all my resources in advance of and during a trial in which I was subjected to a courtroom in which abundant, direct evidence that corroborated my testimony was excluded and in which popularity and power mattered more than reason and due process," she stated. "In the interim I was exposed to a type of humiliation that I simply cannot re-live. "I simply cannot go through that for a third time."

"I cannot afford to risk an impossible bill — one that is not just financial, but also psychological, physical and emotional," she continued. "Women shouldn't have to face abuse or bankruptcy for speaking her truth, but unfortunately it is not uncommon."

"I will not be threatened, disheartened or dissuaded by what happened from speaking the truth," she concluded. "No one can and no one will take that from me. My voice forever remains the most valuable asset I have."

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After Heard's announcement, Depp's attorneys Benjamin Chew and Camille Vasquez reacted to the news. "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.

The insider spoke with People.