Johnny Depp loses 'wife-beater' libel case against British newspaper over Amber Heard allegations

• Johnny Depp has lost his libel case against the publishers of the UK newspaper The Sun over an article that described him as a "wife-beater."
• Three months after the blockbuster trial, Judge Andrew Nicol ruled that the newspaper was justified in reporting as fact that Depp was violent toward Amber Heard during their marriage.
• Nicol said Depp's lawsuit could not succeed because The Sun's lawyers had proved what the newspaper reported was "substantially true."
• In a statement seen by the BBC, 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. Very soon, we will be presenting even more voluminous evidence in the US."

Johnny Depp has lost his libel case against the publishers of the British newspaper The Sun over an article that described him as a "wife-beater."

Three months after the blockbuster trial, Judge Andrew Nicol has ruled that the newspaper was correct in reporting that Depp was violent toward the actor Amber Heard during their marriage.

Nicol said Depp's lawsuit could not succeed because The Sun's lawyers had proved what the newspaper reported was "substantially true."

In reaching his ruling, Nicol referred to 14 separate incidents The Sun's lawyers cited to justify referring to Depp as a "wife-beater."

Depp, 57, launched the lawsuit against the newspaper for a column published in April 2018 titled "Gone Potty: How can JK Rowling be 'genuinely happy' casting wife-beater Johnny Depp in the new Fantastic Beasts film?" written by the newspaper's executive editor Dan Wootton.

Following the ruling, a spokesman 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."

The case has been described as the biggest English libel trial of the 21st century and received global attention as it unfolded over three weeks in July at the Royal Courts of Justice in London.

The Sun reports that Depp may have to pay millions in legal costs — including The Sun's.

In a statement published shortly after the ruling, Depp's lawyers said called the decision "as perverse as it is bewildering."

"Most troubling is the judge's reliance on the testimony of Amber Heard, and corresponding disregard of the mountain of counter-evidence from police officers, medical practitioners, her own former assistant, other unchallenged witnesses, and an array of documentary evidence which completely undermined the allegations, point by point," the statement continued.

"All of this was overlooked. The judgment is so flawed that it would be ridiculous for Mr. Depp not to appeal this decision. In the meantime, we hope that in contrast to this case, the ongoing libel proceedings in America are equitable, with both parties providing full disclosure rather than one side strategically cherry-picking what evidence can and cannot be relied upon."

Both Depp and Heard, 34, gave evidence across the dramatic 16-day trial alongside relatives, friends, and former partners including Winona Ryder and Vanessa Paradis.

Intimate details of the pair's tumultuous relationship, which lasted from 2015 until 2017 and resulted in a divorce and a restraining order, were laid bare. There were extreme tales of drug and alcohol use as well as accusations of infidelity.

On a dramatic first day, Depp told the High Court that he began taking drugs at the age of 11 and did not have "a particularly stable or secure or safe home life," according to court transcripts. And the former "Pirates of the Caribbean" star accused Heard of cheating with both Elon Musk and James Franco.

In a statement seen by the BBC, 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. Very soon, we will be presenting even more voluminous evidence in the US.

"We are committed to obtaining justice for Amber Heard in the US Court and defending Ms. Heard's right to free speech."

Depp has strenuously denied all claims that he was violent toward Heard and has also launched a $50 million case against Heard in the US over a column she wrote for The Washington Post describing experience with domestic violence.

While Depp is not named in Heard's piece, his legal team insists that it is strongly inferred that the article is about him.

• Read more:
• The biggest moments from Johnny Depp's libel trial against News Group Newspapers
• Amber Heard's make-up artist told a London court she concealed the star's bruises with make-up before a 2015 appearance on James Corden
• A complete timeline of Johnny Depp and Amber Heard's tumultuous relationship