I feel like the Sherlock Holmes of gossip sometimes. There was something so damn fishy about TMZ’s story yesterday, wherein Johnny Depp passive-aggressively decided to “donate” Amber Heard’s $7 million divorce settlement to charity on her behalf. As I said in the post, I just didn’t see any way in which Depp’s actions were legal because any half-assed lawyer would say, “No, you petty dumbass, you were supposed to write the check to Amber and SHE could donate the money how she wanted. That was the deal.” Instead, Depp made it all about how much he passive-aggressively “admired” Amber’s choice, so he was just going to cut out the legally agreed upon settlement terms middleman. The middleman is Amber in this situation. And now Amber is calling bulls—t on Depp.
Amber Heard has just fired back at Johnny Depp, saying if he really cares about donating Amber’s divorce settlement he’ll ante up $14 million, not $7 mil … and in fact she’s insisting on that. Amber’s team tells TMZ, Johnny is not being up-front about his latest move … giving Children’s Hospital of L.A. and the ACLU the $7 million earmarked for Amber.
Amber said last week she would donate the settlement money to the 2 charities, but her people tell us if Johnny sends the money directly to the 2 organizations he’s not really paying $7 mil, because he gets a charitable tax deduction. And we’re told Amber’s position is that the money is not Johnny’s to give away. This is Amber’s statement:
“Amber Heard appreciates Johnny Depp’s novel interest in supporting two of her favorite charities, the ACLU for domestic violence and the Children’s Hospital of Los Angeles. This is great and unexpected news,” said the statement from Heard’s team. “However, if Johnny wishes to change the settlement agreement, we must insist that he honor 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.”
I wish Amber’s people/lawyers hadn’t argued that side of the disagreement. I tend to think the stronger argument would have been what I said yesterday, which is: “That’s money Johnny Depp legally owes to Amber, and Amber gets to decide where the money goes, end of story.” When there’s a legal settlement in a contentious divorce, don’t play shenanigans with the money. Besides that, Depp is obviously trying to provoke her because he’s still so pissed off that she left him, divorced him and exposed him. Classic abuser: he’s baiting her as “punishment.” In any case, Depp just needs to write the g—damn check to Amber and let her do whatever she wants with it. Legally, that $7 million is not his money to give away.
Photos courtesy of WENN, Fame/Flynet.
It’s time for them to both stop this. Enough. They’re both assholes.
Come on now. Why is SHE an asshole??
Not sure I’d say she’s an asshole, but why is she dragging this out? She got what she ‘wanted’ in that huge donations to charities have been made and he has been exposed for an enormous ass…so why not let it go and move on? Considering that’s what she has been saying – that she just wants to move on? This is some passive aggressive bullshit from both sides IMO.
why not let it go and move on..?
Because he’s violating their agreement and getting a huge tax refund by doing so, that’s why. She’s not an asshole for pointing that out and demanding he sticks to the rules.
@Clare
“Why not let it go and move on?” Because this is classic controlling behavior exhibited by abusers who have been dumped. They will reach out from their very graves to continue their bullying.
How ironic (in the worst way) would it be to let an abuser exert one more act of humiliating paternalism in order to get money to a domestic violence charity. You may as well be suggesting that a woman be passive about her rape because the rapist says that only then will he donate HER money FOR HER to a rape crisis center. The aggression here is very plainly coming from Johnnys end. Enough with the blame sharing to make him look less like the animal he is.
She is dragging it out because he fought her tooth and nail for every penny. She spent hours with both their lawyers to come to an agreement including a carefully worded statement and he is legally obligated to do what he agreed upon. He thought she would not call his bluff, she did. He owes HER $7 million dollars end of story. Even if she said she was going to throw it in a huge bonfire, he still owes her the money. You don’t get to pay less than you owe in a settlement and you don’t get to choose who receives the money. He needs to hold up his end of the bargain.
To clarify, I don’t think she is the bad one here in ANY way. And I can see where you are all coming from – in fact I agree with you. My only thing is, I would want to be done with this creep ASAP and move on with my life. I agree that it is really her money to do with whatever he wants and he is a vindictive arse (to put it mildly). But where is extending this war of words going to get her?
Having said that, I’m not her, or a victim of abuse, so I’m not sure my opinion carry’s that much weight in this situation.
She did get arrested by a lesbian cop at the sea tac airport for domestic violence against her girlfriend… She is not perfect people! He sucks too. Give the charities all the money plus more then done!
She is not dragging anything out- she is reacting to him breaking their agreement. He is the one dragging it out by donating the money which he never should have. He should write her a check and then slither back to under his piss smelling rock. It doesn’t matter what she said she wanted to do with the money, this is bs and anybody in her position would feel the exact same way.
Besides that, he’s taking a huge tax break, putting his payments in over time & not ear marking the donations like she might which is not part of their agreement. She said that the ACLU donation would go to women’s issues but he just donated to them in general, taking away the earmark.
The argument though of ‘why is SHE dragging this out’ just irks me. Because it’s the right thing to do & because she has every right to. Let’s not judge victims when they try to get some resolution. He is the one who didn’t settle before this went public, made settling difficult during and only did after she was deposed & humiliated & now he won’t even do what HE agreed to (pay her the money). Let’s keep the focus.
I think it’s hilarious that she’s called BS. However with these borderline personalities ( Johnny Depp in old age fueled by using and boozing) this could go back and forth FOREVER. You can’t “one up” a borderline- it just feeds the monster. However, this is an ultimatum and hopefully it’s non negotiable and is ended with his accepting her ante -or not. I hope she walks away- there is no other alternative than to turn your back on all that is Abuser 101.
Cause if she asked for more money, she would look like a gold digger, and she fell into the trap.
@Naya: “How ironic (in the worst way) would it be to let an abuser exert one more act of humiliating paternalism in order to get money to a domestic violence charity. You may as well be suggesting that a woman be passive about her rape because the rapist says that only then will he donate HER money FOR HER to a rape crisis center.”
Very well said!
She is absolutely not dragging it out! SHe’s speaking up for herself when he is trying to control the situation, and the payment. She earned every right through a court of law to donate that money on her own, through her team, which may very well give HER an amazing sense of closure to this whole ordeal.
Why are they bith assholes? He is a piece of sh!t and she’s the victim
How exactly is she being an asshole here?
The charitable donation deduction was one of the first things I thought of when be squawked to TMZ about what he was doing. Amber’s not an asshole because if anyone should be able to claim that it should be her and also maybe she doesn’t want to donate in installments which makes no sense any way. He sold all that art prior to the divorce. He should have more than enough liquid assets to pay everything now.
I actually would be kind of curious to see him try and do that though because I see no way the IRS doesn’t disallow that because the economic substance is still him paying a divorce settlement and not making a real donation.
I’m kind of shocked what a big loser he is. Move on, bro.
For him to try to snatch up the deduction (it is HER money and therefore should be HER deduction) and then turn her major gift into a pledge stretched out over the next several years is a blatant attempt to get out of paying what he owes and to drag this out for YEARS. What happens when he refuses to pay up year after year after year, etc.? I can’t believe any judge would allow this.
why didn’t she take the money and make the donation herself so she would get the deduction then? Is it possible there are other tax reasons involved? Can you give away 7 millions to another person without paying taxes? (I’m swedish and they tax the hell out of us. And nothing in the wellfare state works hooraaaay)
“why didn’t she take the money and make the donation herself so she would get the deduction then?”
Because he didn’t give it to her. He didn’t honor the agreement, he tried to go around it and get the tax deduction for himself.
@maria 2
Are you being sarcastic about nothing working in a “welfare state”? Because I have a couple of friends in Sweden who have a very favorable view of how things are working out there.
Oh stop it. You don’t have to like her but she did nothing wrong here. He’s an abusive addict who just won’t stop. She’s standing her ground and I f*cking love her for it. Don’t back down, Amber!
100% agreed!!
+2!
I still want to see pics of her looking glowing and beautiful like the other day on CB, when she thought she was rid of him.
I never want to see this woman broken by this abusive pos.
Great statement littlemissnaughty.
Go Amber! Girl is getting fiercer Every day- and it good!
I think the wording of his statement was very careful. He did not mention details of the settlement, he promised the amount of money she specified to the charities she chose and he spoke of her with respect (BS I know, but this is PR). She has possibly given enough details from the settlement to invalidate it and she has insulted him. I think there is a reasonably good chance that the LA Children’s hospital are going to speak out on Depp’s charity work (good PR), Depp’s lawyers will seek to get the financial settlement thrown out (because she unfairly insulted him) and Depp will honor his promise to pay the charities directly (because he has already said what wonderful charities they are). This would depend on Depp’s lawyers being very clever, Depp absolutely following their advise in order to reach the outcome he wants and Amber’s lawyers not being particularly good at their jobs. I think it is possible if not probable.
how did she insult him? asking for the settlement to be paid as agreed is not insulting the rage monster. expecting him to live up to his obligations isn’t insulting the abuser. you are reaching with the legally binding settlement being thrown out because the jerk won’t live up to the agreement. i hope the court awards her the payment on top of what he claims to have donated.
@ joanne
Unbelievable isn’t it?? Now the settlement agreement may be thrown out because she breached its terms…….seriously? OMG, whatever next?……..WOW!
His stans will construct every impossible, if not improbable, explanation to minimise this thug’s actions.
Ofcourse, the likely truth is far simpler. This is the resultant behaviour of a bully who was challenged, exposed and is now fuming!
At least, we get to see him for what he really is.
Nope, just him. She has every right to get the money that she was legally awarded and donate it the way she wants.
Merchant Smearer is the formal name for PR temp job, right?
He is so petty it’s ridiculous
She had to play the tax argument, if she countered that the money should go direct to her (even though it should)) the media would scream ah-ha! She’s not going to donate it! So she is distancing herself from the money grabbing stereotype.
That’s what I thought too. I thought the statement the lawyer put out made sense.
Yeah, it’s getting embarrassing.
yeah, this pretty much answers the big questions we were asking ourselves about this yesterday. I, too, thought that his donation MUST have been part of their settlement or else her lawyers would pretty much sue him again for violating the deal.
So not only is he a classic abuser, he’s a dumb one too. Thanks for the update. JD’s lawyers.
Spot-on, Cherry.
Well I guess that answers it.
This was not part of the settlement deal.
I also wished they used the alternate line. That he straight up owes her the money.
BBGMM on loop.
Then his people would leak a story on how he just wanted to make sure all the money goes to charity cause she can’t be trustednto keep her word.
Which doesn’t matter. She doesn’t HAVE to donate the money anywhere. It’s not Johnny Moronic’s job to make sure that she does.
Yep. I don’t understand why people keep giving this guy the benefit of the doubt when he’s proven time and time again how low he will go.
Also: “Amber Heard appreciates Johnny Depp’s novel interest in supporting two of her favorite charities, the ACLU for domestic violence and the Children’s Hospital of Los Angeles. This is great and unexpected news,”
Novel and unexpected. Damn yo that’s some brilliant shade right there.
MTE
YES.
Thought it was perfect as well.
He needs to own that DV charge. And she just forced him to – I love it.
Yeah- I read that he donated to the ACLU but did not earmark the donation to go towards DV which is so messed up. He sucks.
@ qwerty, yup. It is such an abusively brilliant catch-22. She can’t get the money without people saying she’s just after cash, she can’t disprove them by donating because Johnny took that choice from her.
@Kitten
I don’t really understand it. I can figure out if people are in denial, or really just that ignorant of what abuse looks like.
Shade is all she can do right now, and that makes me sad, even if it is A+ level shade.
Along with the obvious abusiveness & terribleness he’s directed her way, there’s an energy to him not paying her directly that’s so extra terrible ….it’s like he’s bypassing or not accepting any responsibility by not paying that money to her directly .
If he felt remorse he would give that money to her in the spirit of acknowledging what happened and cutting the cord that the money represents ….he didn’t give her the satisfaction of that exchange & is trying to make her look like a scammer if she insists it go to her.
I think her team handled it excellently…
In the beginning Amber showed up at an LA courthouse with a bruise that she claimed was the result of Johnny throwing a phone at her face, asking only for spousal support. After all the shilling, Johnny continues to make sure that her request is completely invalidated. Why does he need to degrade her so?
Because abusers will find every and any subtle way to abuse, degrade, and humiliate their victims for as long as they live and because they get satisfaction out of the reaction from the victim and the power it gives them. Every reaction from the victim is another opportunity to say how crazy and obsessed the victim is, or how they can’t let it go, or effectively “prove” to other people that they are the manipulator… The victim continues to get smeared for as long as they indirectly or directly engage. I think at this point she needs to go completely no contact, leave it in the hands of her lawyers, focus on herself and not react if Johnny continues to be an abusive ass.
In losing our illusions, we lay the dead to rest.
i realise that he is that dump, but his lawyers? How come they allow this type of shenanigans? I saw a profile of Laura Wasser a while back somewhere, she supposedly is a shark, best lawyer in LA and then this total fiasco divorce?? If I were a millionaire white, middle aged, depressed, alcoholic, brainless, aggressive, narcissist actor with a temper I would think twice whether to hire here after this.
It is possible that his lawyers didn’t know, and that he acted on his own. I’ve seen people ignore their divorce attorney’s advice all the time, or do dumb things without running it by their lawyers first. Seriously, my own cousin was like that, except he was trying to be nice to his ex. I won’t even talk about how much more it ended up costing him.
I really hope this is what’s happening and that there isn’t some legal loophole we don’t know about that they’re exploiting so that this guy can get away scot-free for what he did.
@ SM
I guess it would be very very difficult to prove that your own lawyer has made a mistake?
Same over here.
Your lawyers can give you the best advice in the world but you have to follow it. He is not a master of self control and he has a huge ego and lots of yes men around he may have thought he knew better.
I think this is far from over. Don’t forget that one of Depp’s lawyers got Mel Gibson’s baby mama down from $15M to $250K. Even with all the evidence Heard has I have a suspicion it may end up with no admission of guilt, no possibility of a tell all story, no possibility of a trial at a later stage, no money or property at all for Heard and, if this is going where I think it might be going, no claim for Heard that she gave the money away because she might have forfeited the financial settlement by talking about the details; something he would find easier to justify now she has questioned his motives. If this does happen Depp’s lawyers will be megastars in the business.
Except the lawyers retracted the statement and disavowed her knowledge. He and his lawyers were satisfied with this and agreed to continue on with the settlement as is. In this particular instance, the first statement about the donations made on her behalf actually came from Depp’s representatives, so HE spoke first. If anyone invalidated it, it was Depp, not Amber.
Grigorieva turned down the $15 Million offer under the mistaken impression she would get more. Never married to Gibson and only in a relationship with him for a little over a year at most, she was crazy to think a court would have awarded her millions.
She ended up with $750 payable over six years but that amount has since been reduced because she violated parts of the agreement.
She screwed it up herself. No credit goes to his lawyers.
I think I am right in saying that that the statements the lawyers retracted was the bit about Heard being vindicated and wining in the court of public opinion. Heard herself stated the amount she was paid and that she would donate it all to two named charities. That is the part that could violate the agreement, depending on how it was worded and that is where it comes down to the lawyers.
You’re wrong, Jellybean. The settlement was never invalidated. We have NO idea what the terms of the settlement was. Do we even know for a fact there is a NDA? She refused to sign one back in July. Stop reaching.
Amber couldn’t challenge him on the fact that she is legally and morally entitled to donate herself for the reason I was pushing yesterday. It would be catastrophic PR for her. All his supporters would toss out a “you never intended to do it, otherwise why are you mad?” Raising that argument would over shadow the giving and point the spotlight back on her. Her teams strategy is smart, put him in the Spotlight.
His whole objective is 1) gaslight her 2) diminish the symbolism of her donation 3) undermine her PR moment 4) depict her as untrustworthy and 5) grab some free PR for himself. The tax break is probably secondary. But since this is about having the last word, forcing him to give 14 million in lumpsum is as best a final word as she can hope for.
And her saying something about him not paying the entire amount might also be her way of sneaking in something about the true state of his finances. There WAS a lot of speculation that the reason he wanted to avoid going to court was actually to avoid publicly disclosing finances, after all, it seems the courts have a direct line to TMZ.
There is also a cap on charitable contributions aimed at the top 2% of tax payers at a certain point it isn’t a true one to one tax credit so his tax person could have told them the current cap based on his current taxable income.
Also IF he sent the checks like he claimed it could have been to protect him from paying an additional $7 million. The first checks could have been a test balloon to see if Amber was willing to call him out. If he sent checks of his own volition to these charities that money belongs to them and it would not fulfill his legal settlement to Amber which the court would force him to pay even if the money was donated in “her name.”
I actually do think the tax break is crucial here. This means HE gets it instead of she, and I bet she was counting on it. Which I have no problem with (she should get the writeoff!), but I do believe he was trying to stick it to her financially in the only way he had left.
I recall reading on another Heard/Depp thread, from a commenter familiar with tax law, that Heard wouldn’t have to pay taxes on the settlement money because that income had already been taxed when Depp earned it. The $7 million would go straight to her. Since she does not declare it as taxable income, then I’m thinking she would not actually get a charitable tax break herself. Anyone know if that is right?
All that said, Johnny Depp is an a*shole.
I think tracking is talking about the tax break they would get when donating the money. One of them will get to write the donation off on his/her taxes.
tealily – right. I understand.
But my question is if the $7M meant to be given directly to her isn’t taxable income in the first place, does she actually have to declare it on her tax returns as earnings? Does she still get to claim a tax write off on the $7M she is not paying taxes on? I don’t know. I’m just wondering.
P.S. Johnny Depp is an as*hole.
Ooooh, I see. I have no idea.
@ Mia girl – I didn’t have to pay taxes after my divorce from my spouse. He was ordered to pay the settlement by a judge, who had read my charges, which included abuse even though I never even called the police, well that still didn’t matter, and I did have credible witnesses, while he had none. He also dragged our divorce out for over two years waiting for me to fold. Hell if you’ve ever been through it. Maybe a reason that this case resonated so strongly with me.
If you receive the settlement as ordered by a judge – you work out the payment terms with your spouse and lawyers. Heard should have received the full $7mil and she wouldn’t have to pay taxes on it either. Depp’s responsible for that.
@tracking – She doesn’t get a write off of income that’s already been taxed. She was trying to give the full amount to charity.
If Depp even tries to do the same – he gets a full write off.
I just knew he was going to try to demean her and charities besides.
This is the man who went on Letterman and explained his wrecking of a hotel room, with poor Kate Moss in it – by blaming a raging armadillo.
C’ est la Vie – I am so sorry you had to go through a prolonged divorce and deal with the continue abuse from your ex. Glad you got out.
Thanks for clarifying what I thought was the case, Heard would not be able to declare the charitable donation as a tax write-off. Which honestly makes the whole thing even more gross from Depp’s standpoint because he’s the only one who can benefit from a tax write-off on this donation. He sucks.
Thanks mia, now I try to put it in the past – but when I saw the terrible cover of Amber abused on People. I thought I was going to be physically ill. I’m being absolutely serious and I felt ashamed as well. Brought back horrible memories of being abused and feeling powerless. The things he’s doing are worse than my ex. But not by much. Still Depp is a completely different animal.
And now he’s trying to take away her power again with yet more abuse. I agree with you – he’s disgusting.
I’m pretty sure she would have gotten the writeoff for the charitable donation, at least a portion of it.
tracking – not so sure about that one.
Is there an accountant in the house?
She would not owe taxes on the settlement money. However, she would owe taxes on whatever her income was. Credit for any charitable donations would offset those taxes. It doesn’t matter where she got the money to donate – they are two separate issues.
I was just thinking this yesterday- that this is classic abuser- having the last word.
Good for her for calling him out.
I hope that other media outlets see through his obvious pr move.
Amber should’ve just pointed out that the donation Depp made was charitable but that he still owed her 7 million as their agreement states.
Ding! Ding! Ding! I would shut my mouth, let him write some checks and go back to court to ask where my money was, if I were her.
Yup. Best strategy.
let your lawyers do the talking
yup.
‘Oh, super nice of you dearie, I’m glad I inspired you to take interest in new charitable ventures, but where is my settlement?’ Except in lawyer speak.
Exactly. Whoever makes these statements for her are idiots. Just like they made that stupid statement after the divorce was final that was clearly a mistake.
Anyways they used the wrong line here. And im over it. Get the check and donate it and get some therapy both of you.
I’m sure Amber appreciates all the advice offered here.
If she had, another round of “she just wants his money!” would have spewed forth. This way, at least, she’s pointing out that he’s doing this for the tax and pr advantages.
Not that Depp’s sycophants aren’t bending over backward to excuse his assholery anyway, but if she’d just said “he owes me the money,” she would have come off looking petty and given them even more ammo.
Can these two just go away already? Time for both of them to leave toxi-city and move on with their lives. It’s tedious and beyond embarrassing now. A bit of dignity won’t hurt either of them at this stage.
Nope. This blame sharing strategy isnt working. We get it, if you can convince people that she is part villain and that he is part victim then he is a little more redeemable. That argument doesn’t hold here. His actions here are ABUSIVE. Without consultation he has exerted his power over her and sealed it with a dose of humiliation by announcing it to the world; she has responded not by challenging the abuse but by ensuring that he doesn’t get away with short changing her. She is not only the victim here, she is a damn saint for her response.
They keep trying it don’t they Naya? Kudos to you for taking the time to respond.
Lol @ Naya ASAPTUALLY Gathering them edges
Here, here Naya! I’m sick of “blame sharing”. JD is the only one to blame is this particular issue. Pay Amber the money due her and let her give to the charity. That would have been a great moment for her to personally write them a check and now Johnny is attempting to take that away from her! He is a shithead and I pray that his entire career is shit down the toilet! Horrible man.
@Kitten (who wrote below) Completely agree with you Kitten.
But I don’t care if this man goes to rehab anymore – who gives a damn about what happens to him. I don’t. And no matter what – remember once an abuser always an abuser.
I agree, Naya, 100%!
The idea that they are equally in the wrong on any level is straight up absurd. Such equivocation is really harmful to victims of domestic violence.
Or he could just display an ounce of self awareness, abide by the terms of the legal agreement, recognize that he has a serious addiction and get help. Imo she has shown great dignity in the face of dealing with this asshat.
+1,000,000 Zapp and Naya.
Is it possible that the fact Johnny donated the money to a charity was part of the agreement with Amber?
Is the only thing that makes sense because if he gave the money away without Amber’s permission is like she has never received the money and he has donated money that wasn’t hers so eventually he will have to give her $7M anyway.
I am genuinely asking.
Its not part of the arrangement hence her statement calling him out. In his statement he said that he was following her public declaration. Its a final F U to Amber.
It doesn’t matter whether its legal or not, he knows that it would look very bad for her to challenge this in court. She would win the legal argument but her public image is already so precarious, this would crush her. If you visit other comment sections you will see that she is already getting slammed for making a very valid point about how the tax break would put him back where financially started. That’s pretty much the only argument she can make in her position.
No it wasn’t part of the agreement, Johnny the douche donated some of the money claiming he did so in Amber’s name, the agreement was that he pay the money to Amber and then Amber who stated (on the record) that the money would go to charities she had named and whom she herself would pay. In doing what he is doing he is undercutting Amber and getting himself a $3.5 million tax break which he in no way is entitled to. This is his way of continuing to control her even after the divorce, he is being what he has always been with her, an utterly aggressive and controlling manipulator, what he is doing is illegal and immoral.
He really is the very dregs of society and someone needs to give his mealy little ass a good kicking at this point. I doubt that in reality she will ever be truly free of him, people like him will always find ways and means to continue to try and punish the person they abused, she outed him therefore he will try his damnedest to make her pay and he will be vindictive, that is why he is doing this to her now. His lawyers must be as disgusting as he is. I don’t know how people like this can look at themselves in a mirror without recoiling in disgust at what they see!
Sorry but another point, the charities could return the payment and make a statement that as this money was supposed to come directly from Amber then they would prefer that this is the case and that would be a huge F@ck You to the douche and would also be a good move by the charities, if I were the CEO of these charities who are getting money from him and not the legal source of the money who is Amber then I would refuse those payments as they are not legally Amber’s but are in fact the douches. In any court of law he still owes her $7 million.
Why should they return the money? Amber is well within her rights to demand that he pay her the full amount and the charities will simply get the other donation as an extra.
@ OhHellNo!
You’ve nailed it!
He has no means of getting anywhere near her so here come the games. I fear this sick man is simply not going to let her be.
Easy fix. Stop payment on the checks to the charities, send Amber the $7 million and be done with it. Then we’ll see how she chooses to use the money.
This. Write a check or give it to her pennies. Depp should let it go.
I agree totally.
This feels like a control tactic, another way to impose his abuse onto her from a distance. It’s not YOUR money to give away, scarfy, its hers. That said, I don’t believe that Johnny Depp is sitting there with his checkbook like “you know what would be BRILLIANT…” some idiot on his team made this call and it was a bad one.
Anon…totally agree….one of JD’s legal team came up with this idea, and he probably thought “Brilliant”!
Well, in his defense, he is coked up most of the time……
Yeah agreed. Lawyers do this absolutely. They don’t want to look like losers and they are fighting for their client. And the more dirty the client who also has much more money here for them to play with – it’s great! Esp. if the lawyers are slimy themselves and look at the p.r. they’re getting. Wasser is practically a household name.
My ex’s lawyer was playing all of these games with mine until he made my attorney so angry we got more than 2x the amount we were asking. You should have seen my abusive ex walk out of that courtroom absolutely beaten with his shocked lawyer. That was divine justice.
I don’t know, I can totally see him dressed in his Pirates of the Caribbean costume & saying that exact line. But seriously, I hope his legal team did not suggest this; one of his friends though? I’m sure Johnny thought it was so clever. *sshole.
Ugh, this ended up under the wrong comment.
I bet his lawyers had no idea he would do that. It sounds like a revenge move. Maybe it was the idea of one of his cokehead friends? Maybe Doug?
I mean in his head it must have been so easy: instead of giving her her rightful money he gets her tax deduction and so basically is paid by Amber! He gets HER money. He gets paid by his victim while implying she can not be trusted with money…
And why isn’t he paying the full amount? What is he hiding? Is he broke?
I start to think that the 7million might be half his earnings and the rest is invested in booze and his yes men
Methinks going broke. Drugs are expensive….
@Ollie – Wow at your second paragraph… You absolutely nailed how twisted this actually is in the end.
The whole story makes me sick and angry. Amber Heard is so much stronger than I ever would have guessed. And I’m sure it really pisses him off. Good.
I find the devolution of the Depp stans so amusing..from “She’s a gold digger!” to “She’s just as bad as him!”
Good LORD the denial runs deep with these people.
Lol. ITA. Maybe she’ll be held responsible for global warming next. Or Trump.
Or Obamacare. I’m just throwing in everything I’ve seen that people have been arguing about on FB, since so many are willing to sling things at her.
It’s really fucking horrible. It’s nice to see that in her personal life she has people who support her.
God knows she doesn’t need Benicio Del Toro’s backing.
I stay away from every other forum except C/B for my Heard/Depp coverage but a friend of mine shared a link on FB to the story about Amber donating 7 mill and of course, the first comment was from some dumb ass lady asking “who does this though? Who films their abuser?”
Sigh and SMDH.
SMDH for both of us! LOL!
What is wrong with these people?
I really thought this would be over after the settlement agreement ( silly me)
Reading between the lines seems like he doesnt have much in way of liquid assets i.e. trying to sell property, artwork, not wanting finances disclosed, paying her settlement in installments. I just dont get these people who blindly defend him like they’re his friend or relative. I liked him also, but jeez in the end he’s just a man like any other. Bitter pill to swallow that he’s turned out to be a drug and drink addled vindictive aggressive petty self indulgent abuser. Im sure she’s not perfect either but she deserved and deserves better than this.
He is so accustomed to having everything his way with little or no opposition (plus unconditional adulation from fans )
that this situation is unacceptable to him.
Throw in the substance abuse and the rage at Amber ( who he’s always had under his thumb prob) and you figure he’s gonna try to get the final screw in.
As far as the donation, that was her money to use however she liked.
Dont care if she donated it or changes her mind, its hers. He’s just doing what he always did, taking her power away , and saving money in the process..
Johnny if youre listening, this is what u need to do if you care about redeeming yourself.
(This is from a former fan btw who bought every one of your movies in dvd at some point)
Go to rehab (and mean it )
Donate to charity (and mean it)
Make amends to Amber (and whoever else)
Sell the f–king island. You owe this woman money.
@ TEALILY-
YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAASSSSSSSSSSSSSS 👏👏👏👏👏
Oh yeah! And how about one of the jets too. Then give that money to Amber, charity and problem solved.
I bet his lawyers are pulling out their hair over this. His antics could screw up the settlement.
How people can’t look at this and see it’s Depp trying yet again to exert control over Amber and emotionally manipulate her, I don’t know. It’s abusive behavior 101.
I used to love Johnny Depp – I was a fan all the way back to 21 Jump Street. Now, I just see a controlling, raging alcoholic.
The settlement didn’t say, “Johnny Depp will donate $7 million to these two charities on Amber Heard’s behalf.” The settlement said, “Johnny Depp will pay Amber Heard $7 million as part of their divorce agreement.”
It is up to Amber to disperse that money how she sees fit. If she decides to donate the entire amount AFTER she receives it from Depp, or keep a bit for herself, that would be up to her since it is HER money.
He doesn’t get to decide to forgo writing her a check. It’s all about control and he’s an ass.
And the idea that charities are thanking HIM for the donation is making me sick!
I think someone upthread commented about what an awesome play returning the money would be.
I think someone did that recently with Trump money, or something else, a senior’s centre. It would make a huge statement.
He’s pissed she’s hanging with a billionaire and can’t handle his weak emotions. Loser.
i was thinking the same, it was a coincidence that his “donation” went right after the news about Elon Musk trying to hook up with her for years?
I am afraid her lawyers missed something in the agreement and johnny lawyers are using it to drag her down till public opinion that support her dismiss her too.
He didn’t donate $7M.I read at People.com,one of the charities thanked him for the first installment.The other charity thanked HIM for the donation.Also I want to know why he needs to donate the money in installments if he is worth over $350M.Also what’s to stop him from not making any more installments.
Controlling jerk.
Could the reason he made a partial payment be to see if he gets away with paying directly to the charities? If it goes to court and he is forced to pay Amber directly, he’s not out the 7 million, just the partial payment which he can use as a deduction anyway. Just another abuser tactic. Cause any grief you can to your victim.
If they thanked him, then it is documented that the donation was not made on her behalf. For tax purposes, the only teeny tiny glimmer of hope that the IRS would allow the tax deduction would go to her is if the receipt had her name on it. Based on these thank yous, the charities processed the donations under his name.
He is the ABSOLUTE WORST!
I feel for her. What an abusive vindictive controlling jerk.
And people suggesting he may not have much money LOL LOL LOL
(Tries to catch breath)
Lolololol gimme a break. He has insane money and the only thing he feared was people realizing exactly how much he does have. Because it would bring to light just how small a sum 7 million is and just how big an operation he is. How much of a fraud the “Scarfy” relatable grungy guy he is.
I am DISGUSTED with Depp and will never support him again.
I called this reaction from her side yesterday. I knew it wouldn’t be part of their agreement and called that her bunglers would react in a way that would make it worse. Spector has caused a lot of Ambers problems with the way she is perceived. But, Amber has made some bad decisions which mirror the obstinence and entitlement of JD. YOU FILE A POLICE REPORT AND YOU SHOW UO TO THE DEPO WITH YOUR POKER FACE. I would bet that he would now agree to pay the $14 mil. Spector NEVER should have made that an option and Amber NEVER should have said she was donating the full settlement because the truth is that never would have happened due to attorneys fees and taxes. Now if JD again refuses to let Amber do it her way, Amber needs to get her money agreed upon through the court and remain silent in the press.
He has to pay her attorney’s fees on top of the settlement. You do not pay taxes on divorce settlements. She would have been able to donate all of the money, just like she said she was, if JD had paid her as per their agreement.
You misunderstood what I meant. Because the $7 mil settlement is nontaxable, and according to her financials, she would only be able to claim a $130,000 deduction on the $7 mil this year. You may find the Forbes magazine article on her situation interesting. Also – the $7mil included attorneys fees
A part of me really wants him to break the agreement, so makes Amber able to break the confidentiality agreement too and show the world all the other videos, audios and photos she had…
Problem is, her side already broke confidentiality as shown by their retraction of the false joint statement they created and apology to JD. It may be all he needs to declare the agreement null and void and to save face he donated the money instead.
Did she already break the confidentiality agreement by disclosing the amount she got from Johnny Depp in the settlement? This is what Harvey what’s his face is saying from TMZ is saying. I am wondering if this is true.
Wouldn’t this be public information when she or he files his or her taxes anyway?
I looked it up and it seems like each party agrees in the divorce settlement which party is going to pay taxes on the settlement. However, taxes DO need to be paid on the settlement monies by at least one party. Therefore it would be public knowledge eventually anyway. Is anybody here an accountant or a lawyer who knows this information for sure and can verify this? Someone who is a professional please.
Never mind. Apparently U.S. tax records are confidential. I did not know that.
If she gets to make him donate more money, I don’t care about the strategy, it’s all good on my book. People will benefit from it and at this point that’s all I care about.
I can make one psychological assessment for certain: The person who thinks he is above the divorce court and can spend Amber’s money any way he wants is 100% the same person who thinks he is above the Australian government and can take Amber’s dogs anywhere he wants.
After seeing his behavior I am going to absolve Amber totally on that one.
He was too fast to mock the Australian government on that one, like he didn’t even care about the potential repercussions.
What a controlling douchebag.
Amber is the one who took her dogs ILLEGALY into Australia not him. That was all her fault. Entitled brat that she is. I LOVE JD for donating this money directly to charity lmao
He donated because SHE was going too and he didn’t want to give it to her because he’s a controlling abuser who’s pissed that his wife left then exposed him.That’s not legal no matter how much you love him.
His lawyers found a loophole for him to pay substantially less money. He donated the full settlement amount; unless there was a stipulation in their agreement that he could not donate it on her behalf and receive a charitable deduction receipt, unfortunately she is out of luck. By the wording of her team’s statement, depp met the legal/technical obligations of the agreement, and all they can do is ask nicely that he honour the “spirit” of the agreement. Simply, his lawyers outsmarted hers and he remains king fucktard.
THIS is my take on it too.
‘By the wording of her team’s statement, depp met the legal/technical obligations of the agreement, and all they can do is ask nicely that he honour the “spirit” of the agreement.’
Wrong. Read the statement again. It clearly says ‘if he wishes to CHANGE the settlement agreement’……..something he cannot do outside a court of law.
He cannot donate on her behalf, there was no requirement for him to ‘act’ for her or on her behalf. Why? Because they are no longer married. Plus, he paid a ‘partial amount’ of the money so a huge chunk of the $7m is still with him at the moment.
This was not part of the settlement agreement and he cannot hold onto her money to ‘donate it’ when he feels like it or when he has managed to earn some more.
If he doesn’t hand her full money over to her, this ends up back in court.
Are you a lawyer? I would think that since it was her settlement that legally he would have to hand the money over to her in order to fulfill his agreement. I imagine their agreement says AMBER will donate it to charity not Johnny.
Never seeing a Depp movie again. Ever. And I love Tim Burton so have major heartache. Go get him sister. Take this arrogant tw*t down.
@ Evil Queen. I could not agree more. I too will never see another Depp movie and I was a big fan. I am so dissapointed with him as person. I am proud of Amber standing up to this much pressure on so many levels. No matter what, she comes out of this with much better karma. I hope she heals from this terrible long ordeal. She needs to keep some of this settlement money for therapy. But I digress, no more Depp movies ever. Now I have to never see movies by Depp and Cruise (no to Scientology getting my $$$). Wow. My movie idols sure are dwindling!
I had to pay tax on my divorce settlement. It’s possible that by Johnny paying the charities on her behalf is amber doesn’t have to pay tax on the 7 million and because it was donated in her name she also gets the deduction. The charities don’t care who signed the cheque. My guess is Johnny didn’t trust her to go through with giving the money away. At this point I think she should move forward in her life. Wasn’t she at one point afraid for her life? Why carry on? Is it for publicity? Spite? We’re all guessing about a divorce we only know through tabloid fodder.
It’s not up to Johnny what she does or doesn’t do with her money. She is not obligated to give that money away, although she said she would and it’s a very kind thing to do. I think it’s more likely that Johnny wanted to give the impression that she couldn’t be trusted to give the money away. I think it’s pretty clear who is the one being spiteful right now, and it ain’t Amber.
THIS
In abuse situations it is also about control, 1,000%. This is his last jab at controlling her…SHE was awarded the $, but HE will not give it to her but turn and donate it on HIS terms. In abuse situations, the victim needs some control and closure. I am obviously not speaking for Amber, but dare I say that choosing a charity, writing the check, maybe even dropping it off or visiting some locations/victims would help her end this chapter in her life and move on. And you know what? He knows that.
who cares if Johnny trusts her? it’s not her problem, what is up to her is requesting he adhere to the court settlement they both agreed to. she clearly is moving forward with her life while the rage monster keeps trying to pretend he has some control over her. i wish Amber the best and i hope Johnny will seek help for his problems. do you believe the court will take kindly to Johnny saying ok i agreed to this but now i’ve changed my mind and am going to do things my way?
Consider this. She doesn’t pay tax on the income plus gets the deduction. He’s done her a favour. I’m surmising just as you are. Truthfully I don’t really care about either one of them I’m just saying there are other ways of looking at this. It’s all tabloid gossip to me and the two of them are getting plenty of exposure they may not have otherwise. It’s a win for both in that respect. It’s “No Exposure” that’s the killer in that industry. People have short memories and eagerly move onto the next scandal.
Just curious – where do you live? Because in the U.S. you DON’T have to pay taxes on your settlement – unless YOU are the one paying your spouse.
I know this from personal experience, since I was divorced as well. And I didn’t have to pay taxes on the money I received from my ex, since HE was already paying the tax. Once the judge makes the decision – the one who gets the settlement does not have to pay tax on it, since it also accounts for taxation – the person paying is also responsible for the tax!
Whether it’s a lump sum or paid in installments – the money you get is NOT taxed twice. As for giving it all to charity, I think it’s a great thing and more should do it, if they can do so – she makes a lovely point. This might also be because (and I didn’t want to mention it but) I also give to the ACLU. Take a look at the many things they do, DV esp.
Depp trying to debase something like that is not an unexpected yet still horrible move on his part – he could give $10mil, surely in a lump sum on his own. Heard’s money is not his to give. Whoever his handlers are they are doing a wonderful job with his pr. This is going to be his legacy – as an addict and an abuser. He makes me sick.
The division of property in a divorce settlement is not taxed for either party, while alimony payments (ongoing maintenance after the divorce) are taxable for the recipient and deductible for the giver.
I think some people are confusing the idea of being taxed for receiving their half of marital property in a divorce with paying taxes for selling assets. For example, if a divorcing spouse decides to cash out a retirement account instead of rolling it over to an IRA, there may be taxes and penalties to pay.
is this truly an official statement, legitimately an AH official statement by a legitimate, official representative? both links mention the statement comes from “her people” and “her team”. no official (lawyers, publicist, etc) or even any actual entity is credited.
nobody wanted to own that statement?
only asking because that statement is black hole levels of shade.
I have to think these statements that are coming out are coming from her PR and not her lawyers.
“Why not let it go and move on? ”
Because, he’s trying to control her and take t
tax write off in the process.
It’s a dick move.
She has her freedom and the charities have their money so, yeah, let it go.
lol someone wrote Johnny didnt trust her to give money away…prob true( more like he wants it to appear that way)… but its not his call or his money. She can do as she pleases with it, he just cant stand it, that he had to give it to her, that he cant control what she does with it, that by what she chose to do with it, made him look worse. The Emperor has no clothes lol
Hahahaha! Yessss! Amber is killing it! I didnt know who she was before all of this and I still don’t really care but I admire her skills.
My understanding is, you don’t get to unilaterally change a settlement agreement. Such a thing has to be negotiated between the two parties. He’s out of line & her lawyers are right to respond.
Exactly.
I do not trust either one to be honest. I never get the fascination with JD. He is ugly to me and looks like he always smell bad. I also remember back in the days when he was with kate Moss, he destroyed few hotel rooms. I am not surprise he allegedly abused Amber. If I was her, I would let this 7million go and move on with my life. You still have to pay taxes on divorce settlement, I think. I am almost sure her lawyers are probably upset. They were probably going to take their cut to the max and there would have been nothing for the charity, and his lawyers know it. I think it is a game of lawyers against lawyers and less powerful one in this case Amber looses.
He broke the legal agreement. Her lawyers should state that, bring him to court and get the check. Period. Keep it simple. Asking for more money is keeping him and the negative vibes in your life. Just donate the 7 million and move forward.
It’s just too bad that Amber didn’t announce she’d give the settlement to her charities after he gave her the money, because now that he knows her plans he’s manipulating to his advantage and to her disadvantage. This isn’t to say that he wouldn’t have tried something despicable one way or another despite her announcement. But I suppose making the charitable donation public was good PR for her.
But I’m so glad Amber called JD out on this and she gets what they agreed on. He can’t try to come out of this smelling like a rose when he stinks to high heaven.
She’ll use the “[t]hat’s money Johnny Depp legally owes to Amber, and Amber gets to decide where the money goes” argument next, I believe. She needs to take this as@*%le back to court!
I believe Amber Heard probably could have claimed the tax deduction for herself for donating that money, but I’m not sure. Now she probably will have to pay taxes on her divorce agreement money she never got and she won’t get the tax break. He did this on purpose to try and break her. It has anything to do with him being low on money which is what some Depp supporters are saying.
I really dislike this man and his lawyers. You’re right, this is nothing but a power play.
This is a man who thinks he is better than and deserves more than any woman. I will never see anything he is in ever again.
I think Johnny is APPALLED that Amber swept him aside so quickly. He’s clearly trying to get a reaction. Any attention from Amber, however negative, is better than being ignored. JD will keep playing these games in her life for as long as possible, even if it costs him money. But he’ll do it through his lawyers/pals/team so that he can maintain his image as a sensitive old-fashioned gentleman who is wounded and mystified about why she left him.
Amber seems strong enough to keep standing up to the bullsh!t, but there may come a point where she no longer wants to and goes ‘no contact’ with Johnny. Ike and Tina Turner fought for a full year in divorce court until Tina finally said that her freedom mattered more and walked away with nothing but her name.
Sublimely crafted shade from Amber’s team. I can’t believe I used to like this petty, bloated little man.
I must be naive but I’m totally shocked he did this. It paints him in a really bad light. Just give her the money you owe her! For goodness sake, I hope the judge doesn’t let him get away with it
This is a man who left France before getting residence there in order not to pay higher taxes there than in the US. He has a island in the Caribbean (the Bahamas?). So, he probably gets some kind of tax incentive from owning at a tax paradise.
This move to benefit himself is so petty and so unsurprising.
I will make sure my husband and I do not see a
Movie with him in any more. He is getting even worse than Tiny Tom in my book.
From a CB 2011 article: http://www.celebitchy.com/190671/johnny_depp_outside_the_big_cities_in_the_us_they_dont_want_intelligent_films/
What? Hang on a minute; why did he leave France? He makes a sour noise, part grunt, part hurrumph. “Cos France wanted a piece of me. They wanted me to become a permanent resident. Permanent residency status – which changes everything. They just want,” and he mimes peeling off notes in his palm. “Dough. Money.”
If Depp spends more than 183 days in France, he explains indignantly, he’d have to start paying income tax. “I’m certainly not ready to give up my American citizenship. You don’t have to give up your American citizenship,” he adds sarcastically, but then he’d have to pay tax in both countries, “so you essentially work for free.”
Yeah, how dare a country whose taxpayer funded resources you utilize while living there demand that you contribute!
I’ll never figure out how the wealthy managed to fool us all into thinking it was the POOR who were entitled.
You usually pay taxes on income EITHER in the country in which you live (with or without having citizenship) or you pay taxes on incoime in the country in which you have citizenship.
So Depp would have had to pay taxes EITHER in France OR in the USA. Which rules apply exactly is not quite clear. If Depp spends 3 monthes on a set in Australia and another three monthes on a set in Mexiko and then spends a few weeks in the USA and in Japan/China to promote his movies then technically he didn’t spend 183 days in either France or the USA. But even then he would have to pay taxes somewhere … not sure if you can chose.
Well, saving taxes is a national sport of rich people in nearly any country in the world. Some countries even keep their own tax haven on their own sovereign territory (GB – channel islands, USA – Delaware … ) or they allow ridiculous tax deduction stuff (Germany). It is political corruption. Looking at both Trump and Hillary – it ain’t gonna change. Looking at the chancellor of Germany, Mrs. Merkel – I am falling asleep asap. 😉
And yes, you should pay taxes, preferably in the country where you use the facilities and the police and …
Actually, no, because the US requires you to pay taxes to it even if you live abroad (if you earn over 90k)… the benefits of citizenship 😉
So he would pay taxes in the US AND France, unless he doesn’t in France, not sure what his visa status is.
Tax treaties enable most tax to be paid to country of residence and a balance to the US. US citizens are not double taxed but do have to file returns.
She’s the one who made a public statement that all her settlement money would go to those two entities. Why does she care if he cut the check to them and says this is from Amber. Done! Quibbling about who gets what tax breaks sounds a little less than charitable. Makes me think she had something else in mind. Johnny just helped her put her money where her mouth is, literally. Now I wish they would both disappear.
his long standing whining about taxes makes clear who is the worse person. I’d like for Amber to benefit a little, since she is the one donating what is lawfully hers. Depp is not making her any favors, he is only looking after himself.
Because if there was a legal agreement/court order that he was to pay her $7m, then he has to pay her $7m. It is her choice as to whether or not she donates it, and how the taxes on that donation will be handled. It is no longer his choice if he agreed to the settlement/agreement/whatever.
Smart cookie…as it is in her name, guess who will get back a IG TAXES CHECK!!!??
Knew he couldn’t just let it go. What a control freak.
So glad she’s out of that marriage.
If that contract says that Heard should get 7 mio then it would have been hers to receive and hers to donate personally.
If that contract said that there will be a donation of 7 mio in Heard’s name then it would be okay if Depp donated the money.
As long as nobody has seen said contract … no judgement possible. It is thinkable that Depp agreed to the sum of 7 mio on condition that he could donate the money in her name in order to get the tax credits deduction things.
Also I had doubts that Heard would donate the whole 7 mio. Simply because she hardly has any income and such divorce proceedings are expensive and therefore she would have needed the money badly. In my experience people who need money badly wouldn’t give such a huge sum to charity but rather half of it. Now that Depp has donated the money Amber can’t keep any parts for herself which she was totally entitled to do, in my opinion.
At the moment they seem to be quarreling about who gets the tax breaks. That ain’t the purpose of charity, is it?
Nope, neither of them looks sparkly clean.
I’ll wait for TMZ to reveal the actual document.
I don’t think she’s wrong here if the $$$ was to go directly to her.
He on the other hand is benefiting from this and seems even more of a douche. Even if it were in tge terms, why the public statement? To one up Amber.
Because you are a Sherlock Holmes, you will discover the truth. It just may take a little time.
Because denial is like an impenentrable wall. But sooner or later the defenders fade away like the morning dew.
It’s interesting how many JD apologists (mostly on other sites) are female. Or at least they use female names. Part of his team’s strategy?