Amber Heard drops defamation lawsuit

Amber Heard has dropped her defamation lawsuit against her ex-husband Johnny Depp's pal Doug Stanhope.

The actress sued the comedian in June (16) after he accused her of lying about false spousal abuse allegations in a scathing online article which appeared on TheWrap.com.

Stanhope jumped to his friend's defence as the actress arrived in court in Los Angeles seeking a protection order against the Pirates of the Caribbean actor on 27 May (16), and then released photos of her bruised face to news outlets.

In her suit against Stanhope, Heard's lawyers alleged he falsely accused their client of blackmail and "other criminal behavior towards her husband, Johnny Depp", while the actress called Stanhope's accusations "completely false and defamatory", adding they caused her "tremendous harm".

In a statement issued to People.com at the time, her lawyer, Charles J. Harder, revealed Heard was seeking the "maximum possible jury award", and was planning to donate it to a domestic violence charity in Arizona.

"The Complaint alleges that Stanhope is a close friend of Johnny Depp and, as part of a co-ordinated effort, wrote a highly defamatory article about Ms. Heard, filled with completely false, highly defamatory and very hurtful statements," he explained.

However, new papers obtained by TMZ suggest the legal spat is over, and a representative for the actress tells the outlet, "Amber is moving on, getting back to work and leading a normal, happy life."

The news emerges weeks after Heard and Depp settled their bitter divorce last month (Aug16), when the actress walked away from the 15-month marriage with $7 million, which she plans to donate to charities which support battered women.