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Johnny Depp loses case against Britain’s Sun newspaper


Published : 03 Nov 2020 07:37 PM

Johnny Depp has lost his highly publicized libel case against the publisher of Britain's The Sun newspaper, whose claim that he was an abusive husband sparked a courtroom showdown between the Hollywood star and his ex-wife, actress Amber Heard, earlier this year.

Depp sued News Group Newspapers and Dan Wootton — The Sun's executive editor — over an article that claimed the "Pirates of the Caribbean" star was violent toward Heard while they were together.

But the UK's High Court ruled in the publisher's favor on Monday.

Citing evidence, including photos, audio recordings and Depp's own text messages, lawyers for the newspaper group argued in court filings that Depp "beat his wife Amber Heard, causing her to suffer significant injury, and on occasion leading to her fearing for her life."

Depp had admitted long-term problems with drugs and alcohol during the trial but said the tabloid's claims that he was violent toward Heard were "completely untrue."

However, Judge Andrew Nicol said in his 129-page judgment Monday that the paper's claims had been shown to be "substantially true."

"I have reached these conclusions having examined in detail the 14 incidents on which the defendants rely, as well as the over-arching considerations which the claimant submitted I should take into account," the judge said.

The blockbuster trial included days of tense testimony in July from Depp, Heard and several of their acquaintances, with Heard telling the court that Depp threatened to kill her "many times."

In their evidence, lawyers for the publisher detailed 14 separate alleged incidents of physical abuse by Depp, which took place in Los Angeles, Tokyo, Australia, and other locations between 2013 and 2016, according to the trial judgement. Depp has denied all incidents of abuse.