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Depp v News Group Newspapers Ltd | |
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Court | High Court of Justice |
Full case name | John Christopher Depp II v (1) News Group Newspapers Ltd, and (2) Dan Wootton |
Decided | 2 November 2020 |
Citation | EWHC 2911 (QB) |
Transcript | BAILII |
Case history | |
Prior actions |
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Court membership | |
Judge sitting | Mr Justice Nicol |
Keywords | |
Depp v News Group Newspapers Ltd [2020] EWHC 2911 (QB) was a defamation lawsuit brought in England. The case was initiated by American actor Johnny Depp, who sued News Group Newspapers (NGN) and then-executive editor[a] Dan Wootton for libel after The Sun ran an article[b] that claimed Depp had abused his ex-wife and criticised his casting in the Fantastic Beasts film series. The article stated, "Overwhelming evidence was filed to show Johnny Depp engaged in domestic violence against his wife Amber Heard," who "recounted a detailed history of domestic abuse incidents, some of which had led to her fearing for her life." After a three-week trial in London in July 2020, Andrew Nicol, a High Court judge sitting without a jury, rejected Depp's claim in a verdict announced later that year, ruling that the published material was "substantially true".[2]
In May 2016, Heard filed for divorce and for a temporary restraining order against Depp. In April 2018, The Sun, published by NGN, ran an article online originally titled "GONE POTTY How Can J K Rowling be 'genuinely happy' casting wife beater Johnny Depp in the new Fantastic Beasts film?", written by Dan Wootton, an executive editor at the paper.[3] Depp sued NGN and Wootton for libel, stating that he wanted to clear his name and alleging that Heard had not only lied about the abuse but had in fact abused him. In their defence, NGN and Wootton alleged fourteen incidents of domestic abuse committed by Depp. During the highly publicised trial, both Heard and Depp testified in person.
In November 2020, the court published its judgement, rejecting Depp's claim against The Sun and ruling that he had assaulted Heard in 12 of the 14 alleged incidents and had put her in fear of her life.[4][5][6][7] Depp's request to appeal the verdict was rejected as two Lord Justices of the Court of Appeal concluded that "it is clear from a reading of the judgment as a whole that the judge based his conclusions on each of the incidents on his extremely detailed review of the evidence specific to each incident" and therefore that the appeal had "no real prospect of success."[8][9] Following the initial ruling, Depp stepped down from his role in the Fantastic Beasts series.[citation needed] The case was seen as damaging to the reputations and careers of both Depp and Heard.[10][11][12]
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