Johnny Depp loses ‘wife beater’ libel case against the publication

Veteran star Johnny Depp has lost the case against a publisher over the Sun’s article calling him a ‘wife-beater’.

As per the details, Judge Justice Nicol said that the tabloid was justified in reporting that Depp remained a violent husband towards his ex-wife Amber Heard at least one time during their relationship.

The judge said in the ruling that while Depp “proved the necessary elements of his cause of action in libel”, News Group Newspapers (NGN) showed that what they published was “substantially true”.

He said the “natural and ordinary meaning” of the article was that the actor “was guilty, on overwhelming evidence, of serious domestic violence against his then-wife, causing significant injury and leading to her fearing for her life”.

After the verdict came, a spokesperson 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.”

As per the UK law, ‘Pirates of the Caribbean’ star had to prove his reputation was badly affected, while The Sun had to prove their report was true.
Johnny Depp’s lawyer had argued that several factors meant that “only a very substantial award” would compensate and vindicate him.

About the article published

As per the details, the newspaper published an article named “Gone Potty: How can JK Rowling be ‘genuinely happy’ casting wife-beater Johnny Depp in the new Fantastic Beasts film?” in April 2018, written by their executive editor Dan Wootton.

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