The ongoing legal battles between exes Johnny Depp and Amber Heard continue to rage on, and the latest courtroom victory is not in Depp’s favour. Admittedly, none of these victories are in anyone’s favor, but in this particular instance Depp has lost his case against the UK tabloid that referred to the actor as a ‘wife beater.’In an April 2018 article that appeared in the British tabloid
The Sun, the
Pirates of the Caribbean star was referred to as a ‘wife beater’ in relation to his marriage to Heard. In response, Depp sued the magazine’s editor and News Group Newspapers, which owns
The Sun. The case went to trial back in July and included testimony from both Depp and Heard. On November 2, the ruling was announced with the presiding judge siding in favour of
The Sun.During the trial, Depp admitted to his ongoing
struggle with addiction, saying he had “taken every drug known to man” in his life and confirmed he had a $30,000 per month wine budget. But the actor continually denied that he had been abusive towards Heard at any point during their marriage. Depp claimed that Heard had not been supportive of his sobriety and had used cocaine in front of him. He also claimed that it was Heard who was the aggressor in their marriage, recounting instances where Heard allegedly struck him several times in the face while on a private plane and cut off the tip of one of his fingers using a broken vodka bottle. The second incident was backed by statements from additional witnesses. Depp’s friend
Penelope Cruz and ex-partners
Winona Ryder and Vanessa Paradis also issued statements claiming that Depp had never been violent towards them during their relationships.Depp issued his own statement about his ex-wife during the trial,
describing her as having “a calculating, diagnosed borderline personality; she is sociopathic; she is a narcissist; and she is completely emotionally dishonest… I am now convinced that she came into my life to take from me anything worth taking, and then destroy what remained of it.”Heard also took the stand during the three-week trial and detailed a marriage that was plagued by moments of terrifying violence that included her ex-husband as the instigator. The legal defense team used audio recordings, text messages, and photos to argue that
Depp did in fact "beat his wife Amber Heard, causing her to suffer significant injury, and on occasion leading to her fearing for her life."Judge Andrew Nicol presided over the case and ruled in favor of the newspaper, saying that their claims that the actor did in fact abuse his wife were “substantially true.”"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 I should take into account," said Nicol,
according to CNN. Nicol also addressed Depp’s attempt to characterize Heard as a ‘gold digger,’ referencing Heard’s
$7 million donation to charity that was funded by a private settlement from Depp. “Seven million dollars to charity is hardly the act one would expect of a gold-digger,”
said Nicol.Part of the settlement included an agreement that the exes would not speak publicly about one another, a decision that Depp felt Heard ignored when she published an article in
The Washington Post about being a survivor of domestic abuse. In response, Depp launched a defamation suit and sued Heard for
$50 million.It’s likely that this is not the last legal case that will transpire between the famous exes. Following Judge Nicol’s ruling, Depp’s lawyer Jenny Afia released a
statement saying “The judgment is so flawed that it would be ridiculous for Mr Depp not to appeal this decision.”Nicol’s ruling does not bear any impact in criminal proceedings against Depp, who has
continued to book film roles even after Heard’s horrifying allegations of abuse were made public. Reactions to Monday’s ruling on social media have been split. Fans of Heard are celebrating the actor for speaking out about domestic abuse, while others are criticizing the UK legal system and claiming that today’s ruling will continue to dissuade male domestic assault victims from seeking help.[video_embed id='5981631825001']Before you go: Amber Heard received death threats after her Johnny Depp accusations[/video_embed]
