By James Simons-
Johnny Depp has lost his libel case against the Sun newspaper over an article that called him a “wife beater”.
Mr Depp, 57, sued the British paper after it claimed he assaulted his ex-wife Amber Heard, which he denies. The Sun said the article was accurate.
However, the ruling from Judge Mr Justice Nicol concluded that the Sun had proved what was in the article to be “substantially true.
The trial was heard over 16 days in July at the Royal Courts of Justice in London. In a statement, Ms Heard’s lawyer in the US said: “For those of us present for the London High Court trial, this decision and judgment are not a surprise.
Speaking outside court on the last day of the trial in July, Ms Heard said the case had been “incredibly painful” and she just wants to “move on her with her life”. The allegations of violence spanned the period between 2013 and 2016, when the couple split.
Ms Heard described one of the incidents in Australia in 2015, was described by Ms Heard as a “three-day hostage situation” in which Mr Depp was allegedly physically and verbally abusive while drinking heavily and taking drugs.
The judge said: “I have found that the great majority of alleged assaults of Ms Heard by Mr Depp have been proved to the civil standard.”
He said that “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’,” and that Ms Heard was a “gold-digger”.
But he added: “I do not accept this characterization of Ms Heard.”
The judge said: “Although he [Depp] has proved the necessary elements of his cause of action in libel, the defendants have shown that what they published in the meaning which I have held the words to bear was 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.”
A spokesperson for the Sun said: “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.”
Charity Women’s Aid said everyone who experiences domestic abuse “deserves to be listened to and believed”.
“This also applies to survivors who do not fit the image of the ‘perfect’ victim – and regardless of the high profile of the alleged abuser. There is no excuse for domestic abuse.”