Johnny Depp: Hollywood star loses mega-trial against tabloid

Johnny Depp lost the case against "The Sun". The judge ruled: The expression "woman thug" was "essentially true".

Defeat for Johnny Depp (57, "Alice in Wonderland"): His defamation suit against News Group Newspapers, the publisher of the British tabloid "The Sun", was annulled on Monday (November 2nd).

In an article published in April 2018, the Hollywood star was described as a "woman beater". In July 2020, a 16-day trial before the Royal Courts of Justice in London followed, in which Depp's ex-wife Amber Heard (34, "Aquaman") testified. She is said to have been a victim of domestic violence in the marriage, which lasted from 2015 to 2017. The process had developed into a war of roses between the former married couple and made headlines around the world.

"Woman thug essentially true"

Judge Andrew Nicol (69) has now passed the verdict. Among other things, the British BBC quotes from it: Depp had indeed "demonstrated the necessary elements of his claim in the defamation suit". Nevertheless, "the defendants have shown that what they published in the meaning I understood was essentially true".

Johnny Depp and Amber Heard met in 2011 on the set of The Rum Diary. Four years later, the wedding bells rang. However, the marriage did not last long. In May 2016 it became public that Heard had filed for divorce, which was consummated in January 2017. This was followed by a media battle with serious mutual accusations.

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