Johnny Depp loses libel case against Britain's Sun newspaper
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.
In the first alleged incident in early 2013 in Los Angeles,
the paper's lawyers claimed that Heard laughed at something Depp had said, and
the actor responded by "repeatedly slapping Ms Heard across the
face," and knocking her to the floor.
The lawyers said Depp told Heard "he snaps sometimes
into something he called 'the monster.'"
Depp's lawyers said the actor didn't recall the specific
conversation with Heard but "expressly denied" ever slapping or
hitting her, according to the judgement.
It remains unclear how severely the trial will damage the
reputation of Depp, one of Hollywood's most recognizable and bankable stars.
In a statement, Depp's law firm, Schillings, indicated he
would contest the ruling, saying "the judgment is so flawed that it would
be ridiculous for Mr Depp not to appeal this decision."
The Sun, which is owned by media mogul Rupert Murdoch's News
Corp., said in a statement following the verdict: "The Sun has stood up
and campaigned for the victims of domestic abuse for over 20 years. Domestic
abuse victims must never be silenced and we thank the judge for his careful
consideration and thank Amber Heard for her courage in giving evidence to the
court."
Heard's lawyer added in a statement to PA Media: "For
those of us present for the London High Court trial, this decision and judgment
are not a surprise."
2018 article prompted legal action
The case, which hinged in part on the veracity of testimony
from Heard and several people close to the couple, shed light on the stars'
volatile relationship and was covered intensely by international media.
It centered around a 2018 column in The Sun that criticized
author JK Rowling for supporting the casting of Depp in the "Harry
Potter" spin-off film "Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of
Grindelwald," referring to the actor as a "wife beater."
The column, written by Wootton, was headlined: "GONE
POTTY: How can JK Rowling be 'genuinely happy' casting wife beater Johnny Depp
in the new Fantastic Beasts film?"
The judge accepted that 12 of the 14 alleged incidents of
violence used to support the article did happen. He cited as evidence of Depp's
feelings towards Heard a 2016 text, in which Depp wrote of his then-wife:
"She's begging for total global humiliation. She's gonna get it ... I have
no mercy, no fear and not an ounce of emotion or what I once thought was love
for this gold digging, low level, dime a dozen, mushy, pointless dangling
overused flappy fish market."
"A recurring theme in Mr Depp's evidence was that Ms
Heard had constructed a hoax and that she had done this as an 'insurance policy'
-- presumably in the event that the marriage broke down," the judge noted
in his verdict, before noting that her donation of her $7 million divorce
settlement to charity "is hardly the act one would expect of a
gold-digger."
The judge also accepted Heard's claim that the allegations
have had a negative impact on her career as an actor and an activist.
And he deemed it was "unlikely" that Heard or a
friend defecated on Depp's bed while he was away, an alleged incident that Depp,
in his evidence to the court, said was the final straw in their relationship
and the factor that prompted him to seek divorce.
"As long as he was away, it was Ms Heard who was likely
to suffer from the faeces on the bed, not him," the judge wrote. "It
was, therefore, a singularly ineffective means for Ms Heard or one of her
friends to 'get back' at Mr Depp."
Heard and Depp met in 2009 while co-starring in the film
"The Rum Diary," and the pair married in 2015. The American actress
had become known through supporting roles in "Pineapple Express" and
"Zombieland," and she had become involved in activism for women's and
LGBT+ rights. The couple divorced in 2017.
They were involved in a months-long, contentious split, with
bad behavior alleged by both sides. Depp denied he was abusive to Heard at the
time, and through his representatives, claimed Heard had made up the abuse.
"When Johnny puts his attention on you, with all his
intensity and darkness, it is unlike anything I've ever experienced,"
Heard said in a written witness statement submitted to the court.
"Some incidents were so severe that I was afraid he was
going to kill me, either intentionally or just by losing control and going too
far. He explicitly threatened to kill me many times, especially later in our
relationship," Heard told the court, according to the UK's PA Media news
agency.
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