05 Nov Johnny Depp Loses Court Case Against Newspaper
Johnny Depp has lost his court case against a British newspaper, The Sun. The publication described Depp as “a wife beater”. The highly publicized case occurred after the actor and his ex-wife, Amber Heard, underwent a very messy divorce in 2017. The newspaper won the case because the accusatations made by Heard were proven true.
The Court Case
Johnny Depp, 57, was suing the court for libel, or written defamation, after it made statements that J.K. Rowling should have him removed from “Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them”. The movie series, a spin-off of the “Harry Potter” franchise, stars Johnny Depp as the villain.
The Accustations Were True
British High Court Judge Andrew Nicol said that he believed that Depp abused his former wife enough to make her fear for her life.
The newspaper’s legal team’s defense was that they did not say anything untrue about the 57-year-old actor. Amber Heard claimed that she was assaulted on 14 different occasions during her relationship with Depp. Mr. Depp denied all of the claims, but the judge found that most of them did in fact occur. Evidence for the ruling included photos, audio recordings, and Depp’s own text messages.
Standing Up For Victims Of Domestic Abuse
After the case was dismissed, the publisher of The Sun issued a statement in response. “The Sun has stood up and campaigned for the victims of domestic abuse for over 20 years,” stating further that, “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.”
Depp’s lawyers have said that he plans to appeal the case, but it is unlikely that another judge would find The Sun guilty of libel.
What do you guys think about the decision? Let us know in the comments below!
If you are experiencing domestic violence, call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1 (800) 799-7233, or go to thehotline.org. All calls are toll-free and confidential. The hotline is available 24/7 in more than 170 languages.
Be sure to check out our latest article on Dancing with the Stars!
No Comments