Amber Heard could face even more legal woes after revealing she is yet to pay the $7 million donation she pledged after her divorce with Johnny Depp.
The Aquaman star has repeatedly insisted she made the twin $3.5 million donations to the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and the Children's Hospital of Los Angeles.
However, it has since been revealed during Depp's defamation trial against her that she has not made the full payments.
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Heard previously made the same claims that she had paid the $7 million donation to a UK court while under oath.
Partner at law firm Hodge, Jones and Allen, Sean Caulfield, revealed to The Express that her fresh admission is an issue that cuts to the core of the UK legal system.
"While it may not be a central issue to the case [the donations], perjury is the single biggest threat and cuts to the core of our justice system, so the police may be invited to investigate to show that any member of the public who lies to the court can be prosecuted for perjury," he said.
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Legal expert Mark Stephens added that police may investigate but it is unlikely they would prosecute.
"It is notoriously difficult to bring and prosecute a perjury case," he told the Daily Mail.
"You have to show that someone deliberately told an untruth as opposed to them being confused or misremembering. I think it would be a very difficult thing to do.
"How do you prove that she knew? She may have been given advice that the donations were made.
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"Access to bank accounts if you are a celebrity may be managed. You may well believe that you made or have committed to the donations."
Heard made the confession on Tuesday (May 18) during her defence in defamation proceedings with ex-husband Johnny Depp in Fairfax County, Virginia.
Depp's lawyer quizzed the 36-year-old on whether she paid the donation or whether she has just pledged it.
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After an intense back-and-forth, Heard eventually said: "I fully intend to honour all of my pledges," she told the court, after admitting the money had not been paid in full.
She added: "I would love for [Depp] to stop suing me so I can."
The two actors started dating after meeting on the set of 2011 film The Rum Diary and were married in 2015.
Things soon fell apart and Heard obtained a restraining order against Depp the following year and they finalised their divorce in 2017.
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In 2020, Depp lost a libel case brought against The Sun over an article where he was labelled a 'wife beater'.
The estranged couple's proceedings now continue in the US justice system after Heard wrote an op-ed for The Washington Post saying she was a survivor of domestic abuse.
Depp wasn't named in the article, but he claimed the piece ruined his reputation.
Featured Image Credit: REUTERS / Alamy Stock Photo. Abaca Press / Alamy Stock Photo.Topics: Johnny Depp, US News, Crime
