Johnny Depp has lost his libel case against The Sun newspaper over an article that called him a "wife beater".
US actress Amber Heard makes a statement to members of the media outside the High Court, following the final day of the libel trial by ex-husband US actor Johnny Depp against News Group Newspapers in London, on July 28, 2020. Photo: Niklas Halle'n / AFP
Depp, 57, sued the paper after it claimed he assaulted his ex-wife Amber Heard, which he denies. The Sun said the article was accurate.
Justice Nicol said The Sun had proved what was in the article to be "substantially true".
He found 12 of the 14 alleged incidents of domestic violence had occurred.
Depp's lawyer called the ruling "perverse" and said the Hollywood actor intends to appeal.
A spokesperson for The Sun said it had stood up for domestic abuse victims for decades, and thanked Heard for "her courage in giving evidence to the court".
The trial was heard over 16 days in July at the Royal Courts of Justice in London.
Heard's lawyer in the US, Elaine Charlson Bredehoft, said the judgement was "not a surprise".
"Very soon, we will be presenting even more voluminous evidence in the US," she said.
Depp is suing Heard, 34, in the US in a separate case, over an opinion piece she wrote in the Washington Post. Depp says the article implied he was violent towards her.
'Depp made Heard fear for life'
The allegations of violence spanned the period between 2013 and 2016, when the couple split.
The judge highlighted three incidents where he said Depp had put Heard in "fear for her life".
In one of those incidents, in Australia in 2015, Depp was allegedly physically and verbally abusive towards her while drinking heavily and taking drugs. Depp accused Heard of severing his finger, but the judge said he did not accept Heard was responsible.
US actor Johnny Depp gestures as he leaves the High Court after the final day of his libel trial against News Group Newspapers (NGN), in London, on July 28, 2020. Photo: Daniel Leal-Olivas / AFP
"Taking all the evidence together, I accept that she was the victim of sustained and multiple assaults by Mr Depp in Australia," Justice Nicol said.
"It is a sign of the depth of his rage that he admitted scrawling graffiti in blood from his injured finger and then, when that was insufficient, dipping his badly injured finger in paint and continuing to write messages and other things," the judge said.
"I accept her evidence of the nature of the assaults he committed against her. They must have been terrifying."
Heard 'not a gold-digger'
Of the 14 alleged incidents of domestic violence, there were two the judge did not rule as having occurred.
They were an alleged incident in December 2014, which the judge said he was "not persuaded... constituted a physical assault", and another in November 2015, which the judge said could not be proven because it was not put to Depp in cross-examination.
Justice Nicol said that "a recurring theme in Mr Depp's evidence was that Ms Heard had constructed a hoax and that she had done this as an 'insurance policy'," and that Heard was a "gold-digger".
But he added: "I do not accept this characterisation of Ms Heard."
Speaking outside court on the last day of the trial in July, Heard said the case had been "incredibly painful" and she just wants to "move on her with her life".
Jenny Afia of Schillings law firm, who represented Depp, said: "This decision is as perverse as it is bewildering.
"Most troubling is the judge's reliance on the testimony of Amber Heard, and corresponding disregard of the mountain of counter-evidence from police officers, medical practitioners, her own former assistant, other unchallenged witnesses and an array of documentary evidence which completely undermined the allegations, point by point.
"The judgement is so flawed that it would be ridiculous for Mr Depp not to appeal this decision," she added.
A spokesperson for The Sun said: "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."
Charity Women's Aid said everyone who experiences domestic abuse "deserves to be listened to and believed".
"This also applies to survivors who do not fit the image of the 'perfect' victim - and regardless of the high profile of the alleged abuser. There is no excuse for domestic abuse."
Depp's case was brought against News Group Newspapers (NGN) - publisher of The Sun - and executive editor Dan Wootton over an article published on The Sun's website on 27 April 2018.
The article had the headline: "Gone Potty: How can JK Rowling be 'genuinely happy' casting wife beater Johnny Depp in the new Fantastic Beasts film?"
Evidence was heard from both Depp and actress Heard along with friends and relatives of the ex-couple, and several former and current employees.
Depp's lawyer David Sherborne said his client's case was about "clearing his name".
The Sun's publisher said Depp was "controlling and verbally and physically abusive towards Heard, particularly when he was under the influence of alcohol and/or drugs".
And The Sun's lawyer argued there is "no doubt that Mr Depp regularly and systematically abused his wife".
- BBC