Johnny Depp vehemently dismissed accusations he injured Heard (courtesy AFP)
Strong points
- The publication praised the decision
- “Victims of domestic violence should never be silenced,” they said
- The actor sued the publication for claiming he was violent towards his ex-wife
London:
Hollywood star Johnny Depp on Monday lost a libel lawsuit against British newspaper The Sun for calling him a “woman’s beater” in a case that exposed his chaotic lifestyle and shattered his global reputation.
Judge Andrew Nicol dismissed the 57-year-old’s complaint to the High Court in London, saying the article was found to be “substantially true”.
“Although he proved the necessary elements of his cause of action for libel, the defendants (News Group Newspapers Ltd) showed that what they published in the sense I wanted to say was essentially true,” a- he added.
The Sun welcomed the move, saying it “has stood up and campaigned for victims of domestic violence for over 20 years.”
“Victims of domestic violence should never be silenced and we thank the judge for his careful consideration and thank Amber Heard for her courage in testifying in court,” he added.
the Pirates of the Caribbean The actor sued NGN and the author of the article for claiming to have been violent towards Heard during their unstable two-year marriage.
The case has been dubbed “the biggest English libel lawsuit of the 21st century” and the legal odds seemed to be in Depp’s favor.
England’s old defamation law places the burden of proof on the media and remains one of the strictest in the Western world.
NGN leaned on the defense of the truth, claiming it had a valid basis for the 2018 story by detailing 14 alleged cases of Depp abusing Heard.
But Depp sued because he said The Sun’s allegations had done “a disservice” to the #MeToo movement he was trying to support, his lawyer David Sherborne said.
His client was “cited in the same breath as disgraced movie mogul Harvey Weinstein,” he added. “That’s why he came here – to clear his name.”
Heard said she stood by her testimony and trusted UK justice even though she had not taken legal action.
Legal experts ruled Depp had no choice but to sue, as in the
In this era, the accusations of domestic violence would do more damage to his career than the details of his drug addiction.
– Atrocious detail –
The 16-day litigation in July, which both sides attended, exposed the couple’s troubled relationship in excruciating detail.
Depp posted a graphic photo showing a cut finger he claimed to have heard while throwing a bottle of vodka at her during a heated argument.
Heard, a 34-year-old model and actress, claimed Depp injured his fingertip, which was then reattached, when he smashed a phone against the wall during the argument.
Depp admitted to writing a message to Heard on the wall and floor with blood flowing down, then dipping his finger into a can of paint to continue writing when the bleeding stopped.
Another episode involved feces found in the couple’s marital bed, which Depp said was left there as a sick joke by Heard or one of his friends.
Depp admitted to laughing about it when a friend sent him pictures of the feces with the inscription “Amber Turd” on it.
But although Heard blames the incident on the couple’s pet dog, Depp said he knew then that his marriage was indeed over.
The judge also forced Depp to face days of grueling cross-examination in which the star admitted only remembering certain events because he was on drugs.
Depp vehemently dismissed accusations he hurt Heard while battling drug addiction over a three-year period that ended with his 2016 decision to obtain a restraining order and file for divorce.
He and his legal team called Heard a manipulative fantasy who invented the money and personal fame claims to destroy his life.
Heard, for her part, said she liked the sober Depp, but he became a “freak” after days of bingeing on potent drugs and other drugs.
(Except for the title, this story was not edited by GalacticGaming staff and is posted from a syndicated feed.)
