Amber Heard and Johnny Depp row over divorce donations

Amber Heard has demanded that her ex-husband Johnny Depp double the amount that is paid to charity following their divorce settlement.

She recently pledged to donate the $7m settlement to two charities for abused women and ill children.

But he has begun to donate the money directly in her name, instead of giving it to her first, leading her to accuse him of trying to reduce his total bill.

She said he must now “honour the full amount by donating $14m to charity”.

On Thursday, the Pirates of the Caribbean star revealed he had paid the first instalments of the original $7m sum to the charities “in the name of Amber Heard”.

Her spokeswoman responded in a statement: “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.”

A spokesman for Depp earlier confirmed that the actor had sent the first instalments to the two charities.

In a statement, the spokesman said: “Following Amber Heard’s announcement that her divorce settlement was to be divided equally and gifted to Children’s Hospital of Los Angeles and the American Civil Liberties Union, two exceptionally deserving and important charities, Johnny Depp has sent the first of multiple instalments of those monies to each charity in the name of Amber Heard, which when completed will honour the full amount of Ms Heard’s pledge.

“Ms Heard’s generosity in giving to these wonderful causes is deeply respected.”

The 30-year-old actress and Hollywood star Depp, who were married in February 2015, announced their split this May. She accused him of striking her and throwing a mobile phone during a fight. He denied the allegations.

She then took out a temporary restraining order against the 53year-old obliging him not to get in contact and to stay 100 yards away from her.

The order was withdrawn when they agreed the divorce settlement.

Depp earns $48m a year, according to Forbes magazine.