Johnny Depp asked to pay $38,000 to ACLU for providing evidence in bombshell libel case

Johnny Depp has been ordered to pay $38,000 to American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) by Manhattan judge over evidence used in libel case against Amber Heard.

The non profit organization had originally asked the Pirates of the Caribbean star for whooping sum of $86,000 in attorneys’ fees.

The ACLU lawyer Stephanie Teplin argued that the sum was for "considerable expense spent responding to onerous subpoenas served by Mr. Depp from an underlying action in which neither the ACLU nor any of its employees are parties," as per a report by Law & Crime.

However, Manhattan Supreme Court Justice Arthur Engoron decreased the payable amount to half of that originally asked after the actor’s lawyer filed a motion.

"Exorbitant and unreasonable," Depp’s attorney Jessica Meyers dubbed the original demand of the non- profit organization that helped Heard draft and publish the infamous op-ed in The Washington post.

"They [ACLU] were responsible for drafting and placing the op-ed that the Virginia jury just found to be defamatory to Mr. Depp," Meyers added.

After the court’s ruling, a spokesperson for ACLU told Newsweek that the organization is "pleased that the Court recognized that the ACLU complied with Mr. Depp's requests and did so at great expense."