Johnny Depp lawyers vow to appeal ‘perverse and bewildering’ libel verdict
Lawyers for Johnny Depp have vowed to appeal a “perverse” ruling after the actor lost his libel case against the Sun newspaper over an article that branded him a “wifebeater”.
A judge today ruled in favour of the Sun after a dramatic courtroom showdown that revealed the intimate details of his relationship with ex-wife Amber Heard.
Law firm Schillings, which represented Depp, said the decision was “as perverse as it is bewildering”.
The judgment is so flawed that it would be ridiculous for Mr Depp not to appeal this decision,” the statement said.
“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.”
Depp sued the Sun and its executive editor Dan Wootton over an April 2018 article that described Depp as a “wifebeater” and claimed there was “overwhelming evidence” that the actor had attacked Heard, to whom he was married at the time.
But Judge Andrew Nicol today ruled that Sun owner News Group Newspapers (NGN) had successfully proved the allegations in the article to be “substantially true”.
“I accept that the defendants have shown that the words they published were substantially true in the meanings I have held them to bear,” Nicol wrote in his ruling. “It follows that this claim is dismissed.”
A spokesperson for the Sun said: “The Sun has stood up and campaigned for the victims of domestic abuse for over twenty 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.”
Lawyers for the Pirates of the Caribbean star had argued that Heard’s allegations were untrue and sought to sue the Sun over harm to his reputation and career.
But the judge dismissed Depp’s charaterisation of Heard as a “gold digger” and his argument that her allegations were a hoax.
The ruling will come as a major victory for the Sun, which faced hefty damages and legal costs over the case.
“[It’s] worth noting that The Sun won this case on a defence of truth — which is tough — in libel the defence have to prove truth, the claimant doesn’t have to disprove it,” said media law expert David Banks. “Defendants who have lost on truth have been hammered for damages. It is high risk.”
He added: “Some publications might have sought to settle this case, knowing the risks and potential consequences of a loss. It takes deep pockets and determination to fight an action like this.”
Elaine Charlson Bredehoft, a lawyer for Heard, said the ruling was “no surprise”.
Bredehoft said she would be presenting “even more voluminous evidence” in the US, where Depp is suing her for $50m (£38.7m) in a separate case over an article she wrote in the Washington Post.
Trial of the century
The judgement comes after a dramatic legal battle between Depp and the Sun, which has been dubbed the biggest libel trial of the 21st century.
The trial related to the publication of an article titled Gone Potty: How Can J K Rowling be “genuinely happy” casting wife beater Johnny Depp in the new Fantastic Beasts film?’
But much of the focus of the proceedings was on evidence given about Depp’s relationship with ex-wife Amber Heard.
The two actors met on the set of Hollywood film The Rum Diary in 2009. They married in Los Angeles in 2015 but split 15 months later, with Heard obtaining a restraining order against Depp over claims he was “emotionally and physically abusive”.
Both Depp and Heard attended the 16-day trial in July, which played out at the High Court under the full glare of the world’s media.
The court heard explosive claims of alleged abuse by both sides, as well as intimate details about the pair’s troubled relationship.
Heard accused Depp of throwing a phone at her face, slapping her, dragging her by the hair and punching her, among other claims. Depp denied the allegations.
Depp has claimed that he himself was the victim of “abuse” by Heard during their relationship, and has accused her of throwing a “haymaker” punch at him, slicing the top of his finger off with a vodka bottle and defecating in his bed. Heard denied these claims.
NGN’s defence relied on texts, emails and medical notes it said supported 14 separate accounts of alleged domestic abuse against Heard.
During the trial the Pirates of the Caribbean actor faced questions over his lavish Hollywood lifestyle, his use of alcohol and drugs and alleged violent behaviour in the past.
Depp’s lawyers argued the allegations were not true and amounted to “serious harm” under the Defamation Act 2013, adding that they had harmed both is reputation and his career.
In their closing submissions, Depp’s lawyers told the court the Edward Scissorhands star was “no wifebeater”, and that it was ex-wife Heard who was “the abuser” in their relationship.
Sherbourne argued that audio recordings of a scuffle between the pair in 2015 proved that Heard had a “propensity for violence” and cleared his client.
He reminded the court that the burden of proof was on NGN to prove that what the Sun published was true, not on Depp to prove his innocence. He added that there was a higher standard of proof for the allegations as many were criminal in nature.
Sasha Wass QC, representing NGN and Wootton, told the court of the “deep misogyny which lay at the root of Mr Depp’s anger, and the anger which Mr Depp felt towards Ms Heard, which translated into violence when he felt threatened by her.”
Speaking outside the High Court at the end of the trial, Heard said it had been “traumatic” to have intimate details of her private life “broadcast to the entire world”.
“I travelled her to the UK to testify as a witness to assist the court. After obtaining a restraining order in 2016 and finalising my divorce, I just wanted to move on with my life,” she said.