Johnny Depp lost his court case against the newspaper that called him a wife beater.
The Pirates of the Caribbean actor sued The Sun over an article that carried the headline ‘Gone Potty. How can JK Rowling be ‘genuinely happy’ casting wife beater Johnny Depp in the new Fantastic Beasts film?’
The 57-year-old actor denied the claims but Judge Mr. Justice Nicol said the newspaper had proved that the article was ‘substantially true.’
The judge found Depp had assaulted Heard 12 times, adding he accepted that the actor became a ‘monster’ when he binged on drugs and drinks.
He mentioned three incidents where he said the actor had put his ex-wife in ‘fear for her life.’ One of those incidents occurred in Australia in 2015 when Mr. Depp was allegedly verbally and physically abusive towards Ms. Heard while taking drugs and drinking heavily.
The actor accused Ms. Heard of severing his finger but Mr. Nicol said he didn’t accept his ex-wife was responsible.
“Taking all the evidence together, I accept that she was the victim of sustained and multiple assaults by Mr Depp in Australia,” the judge said.
“It is a sign of the depth of his rage that he admitted scrawling graffiti in blood from his injured finger and then, when that was insufficient, dipping his badly injured finger in paint and continuing to write messages and other things,” he continued.
“I accept her evidence of the nature of the assaults he committed against her. They must have been terrifying.”
The actor’s lawyer called the judgment ‘perverse’ and said Depp intends to appeal.
Depp’s lawyers Schillings said in a statement: “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. All of this was overlooked.
“The judgment is so flawed that it would be ridiculous for Mr Depp not to appeal this decision.”
A spokesperson for the newspaper said: “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.”
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Replaced!