{"id":17797,"date":"2020-11-02T06:17:26","date_gmt":"2020-11-02T11:17:26","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/worldjusticenews.com\/news\/?p=17797"},"modified":"2020-11-02T06:17:26","modified_gmt":"2020-11-02T11:17:26","slug":"johnny-depp-loses-libel-case-over-sun-wife-beater-claim","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/worldjusticenews.com\/news\/2020\/11\/02\/johnny-depp-loses-libel-case-over-sun-wife-beater-claim\/","title":{"rendered":"Johnny Depp loses libel case over Sun &#8216;wife beater&#8217; claim"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"css-uf6wea-RichTextComponentWrapper e1xue1i82\" data-component=\"text-block\">\n<div class=\"css-83cqas-RichTextContainer e5tfeyi2\">\n<p><b class=\"css-14iz86j-BoldText e5tfeyi0\">Johnny Depp has lost his libel case against the Sun newspaper over an article that called him a &#8220;wife beater&#8221;.<\/b><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"css-uf6wea-RichTextComponentWrapper e1xue1i82\" data-component=\"text-block\">\n<div class=\"css-83cqas-RichTextContainer e5tfeyi2\">\n<p>Mr Depp, 57, sued the paper after it claimed he assaulted his ex-wife Amber Heard, which he denies. The Sun said the article was accurate.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"css-uf6wea-RichTextComponentWrapper e1xue1i82\" data-component=\"text-block\">\n<div class=\"css-83cqas-RichTextContainer e5tfeyi2\">\n<p>Judge Mr Justice Nicol said the Sun had proved what was in the article to be &#8220;substantially true&#8221;.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"css-uf6wea-RichTextComponentWrapper e1xue1i82\" data-component=\"text-block\">\n<div class=\"css-83cqas-RichTextContainer e5tfeyi2\">\n<p>A spokesperson for the Sun thanked Ms Heard for &#8220;her courage&#8221;.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"css-uf6wea-RichTextComponentWrapper e1xue1i82\" data-component=\"text-block\">\n<div class=\"css-83cqas-RichTextContainer e5tfeyi2\">\n<p>The trial was heard over 16 days in July at the Royal Courts of Justice in London.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"css-uf6wea-RichTextComponentWrapper e1xue1i82\" data-component=\"unordered-list-block\">\n<div class=\"css-83cqas-RichTextContainer e5tfeyi2\">\n<div class=\"css-1pzprxn-BulletListContainer e5tfeyi3\">\n<ul role=\"list\">\n<li><a class=\"css-yidnqd-InlineLink e1no5rhv0\" href=\"https:\/\/www.bbc.co.uk\/news\/explainers-53558591\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">What is libel and how does it work?<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"css-uf6wea-RichTextComponentWrapper e1xue1i82\" data-component=\"text-block\">\n<div class=\"css-83cqas-RichTextContainer e5tfeyi2\">\n<p>In a statement, Ms Heard&#8217;s lawyer in the US said: &#8220;For those of us present for the London High Court trial, this decision and judgment are not a surprise.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"css-uf6wea-RichTextComponentWrapper e1xue1i82\" data-component=\"text-block\">\n<div class=\"css-83cqas-RichTextContainer e5tfeyi2\">\n<p>&#8220;Very soon, we will be presenting even more voluminous evidence in the US.&#8221;<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"css-uf6wea-RichTextComponentWrapper e1xue1i82\" data-component=\"text-block\">\n<div class=\"css-83cqas-RichTextContainer e5tfeyi2\">\n<p>Mr Depp is suing Ms Heard in the US\u00a0<a class=\"css-yidnqd-InlineLink e1no5rhv0\" href=\"https:\/\/www.bbc.co.uk\/news\/entertainment-arts-53983386\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">in a separate case,<\/a>\u00a0over an opinion piece she wrote in the Washington Post. Mr Depp says the article implied he was violent towards her.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"css-uf6wea-RichTextComponentWrapper e1xue1i82\" data-component=\"text-block\">\n<div class=\"css-83cqas-RichTextContainer e5tfeyi2\">\n<p>Speaking outside court on the last day of the trial in July, Ms Heard said the case had been &#8220;incredibly painful&#8221; and she just wants to &#8220;move on her with her life&#8221;.<\/p>\n<div class=\"css-uf6wea-RichTextComponentWrapper e1xue1i82\" data-component=\"text-block\">\n<div class=\"css-83cqas-RichTextContainer e5tfeyi2\">\n<p>The judge said: &#8220;I have found that the great majority of alleged assaults of Ms Heard by Mr Depp have been proved to the civil standard.&#8221;<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"css-uf6wea-RichTextComponentWrapper e1xue1i82\" data-component=\"text-block\">\n<div class=\"css-83cqas-RichTextContainer e5tfeyi2\">\n<p>He said that &#8220;a recurring theme in Mr Depp&#8217;s evidence was that Ms Heard had constructed a hoax and that she had done this as an &#8216;insurance policy&#8217;,&#8221; and that Ms Heard was a &#8220;gold-digger&#8221;.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"css-uf6wea-RichTextComponentWrapper e1xue1i82\" data-component=\"text-block\">\n<div class=\"css-83cqas-RichTextContainer e5tfeyi2\">\n<p>But he added: &#8220;I do not accept this characterisation of Ms Heard.&#8221;<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"css-uf6wea-RichTextComponentWrapper e1xue1i82\" data-component=\"text-block\">\n<div class=\"css-83cqas-RichTextContainer e5tfeyi2\">\n<p>The judge said: &#8220;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.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"css-uf6wea-RichTextComponentWrapper e1xue1i82\" data-component=\"text-block\">\n<div class=\"css-83cqas-RichTextContainer e5tfeyi2\">\n<p>&#8220;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.&#8221;<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"css-uf6wea-RichTextComponentWrapper e1xue1i82\" data-component=\"text-block\">\n<div class=\"css-83cqas-RichTextContainer e5tfeyi2\">\n<p>A spokesperson for the Sun said: &#8220;The Sun has stood up and campaigned for the victims of domestic abuse for over 20 years.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"css-uf6wea-RichTextComponentWrapper e1xue1i82\" data-component=\"text-block\">\n<div class=\"css-83cqas-RichTextContainer e5tfeyi2\">\n<p>&#8220;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.&#8221;<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"css-uf6wea-RichTextComponentWrapper e1xue1i82\" data-component=\"text-block\">\n<div class=\"css-83cqas-RichTextContainer e5tfeyi2\">\n<p>Mr Depp&#8217;s case was brought against News Group Newspapers (NGN) &#8211; publisher of the Sun &#8211; and executive editor Dan Wootton over an article published on the Sun&#8217;s website on 27 April 2018.<\/p>\n<div class=\"css-uf6wea-RichTextComponentWrapper e1xue1i82\" data-component=\"text-block\">\n<div class=\"css-83cqas-RichTextContainer e5tfeyi2\">\n<p>The article had the headline: &#8220;Gone Potty: How can JK Rowling be &#8216;genuinely happy&#8217; casting wife beater Johnny Depp in the new Fantastic Beasts film?&#8221;<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"css-uf6wea-RichTextComponentWrapper e1xue1i82\" data-component=\"text-block\">\n<div class=\"css-83cqas-RichTextContainer e5tfeyi2\">\n<p>Evidence was heard from both Mr Depp and actress Ms Heard, 34, along with friends and relatives of the ex-couple, and several former and current employees.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"css-uf6wea-RichTextComponentWrapper e1xue1i82\" data-component=\"text-block\">\n<div class=\"css-83cqas-RichTextContainer e5tfeyi2\">\n<p>Mr Depp&#8217;s lawyer David Sherborne said his client&#8217;s case was about &#8220;clearing his name&#8221;.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"css-uf6wea-RichTextComponentWrapper e1xue1i82\" data-component=\"text-block\">\n<div class=\"css-83cqas-RichTextContainer e5tfeyi2\">\n<p>In its defence, the Sun&#8217;s publisher said Mr Depp was &#8220;controlling and verbally and physically abusive towards Heard, particularly when he was under the influence of alcohol and \/ or drugs&#8221; between early 2013 and May 2016, when the couple split.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"css-uf6wea-RichTextComponentWrapper e1xue1i82\" data-component=\"text-block\">\n<div class=\"css-83cqas-RichTextContainer e5tfeyi2\">\n<p>The lawyer for the Sun&#8217;s publisher, Sasha Wass QC, argued there is &#8220;no doubt that Mr Depp regularly and systematically abused his wife. The characterisation that he is a wife-beater is entirely truthful&#8221;.<\/p>\n<p>Source: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bbc.co.uk\/news\/uk-54779430\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">bbc.co.uk<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<div class=\"mh-excerpt\">Johnny Depp has lost his libel case against the Sun newspaper over an article that called him a &#8220;wife beater&#8221;. Mr Depp, 57, sued the paper after it claimed he assaulted his ex-wife Amber Heard, <a class=\"mh-excerpt-more\" href=\"https:\/\/worldjusticenews.com\/news\/2020\/11\/02\/johnny-depp-loses-libel-case-over-sun-wife-beater-claim\/\" title=\"Johnny Depp loses libel case over Sun &#8216;wife beater&#8217; claim\">[&#8230;]<\/a><\/div>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":17798,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"pmpro_default_level":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[109,2,4],"tags":[7424,7423,1851,2556,5750,1219],"class_list":{"0":"post-17797","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-headline","8":"category-news","9":"category-uk","10":"tag-amber-heard","11":"tag-dan-wootton","12":"tag-johnny-depp","13":"tag-libel","14":"tag-royal-courts-of-justice","15":"tag-sun-newspaper","16":"pmpro-has-access"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/worldjusticenews.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17797","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/worldjusticenews.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/worldjusticenews.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/worldjusticenews.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/worldjusticenews.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=17797"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/worldjusticenews.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17797\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":17799,"href":"https:\/\/worldjusticenews.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17797\/revisions\/17799"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/worldjusticenews.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/17798"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/worldjusticenews.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=17797"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/worldjusticenews.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=17797"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/worldjusticenews.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=17797"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}