The result of his UK libel case against British tabloid The Sun was disastrous for Johnny Depp. The Pirates of the Caribbean star had attempted to take down the newspaper for labelling him as a “wife beater” over Amber Heard’s allegations against him, but the ultimate verdict went the other way, with the judge declaring the offending description to be “substantially true.” Depp’s legal team have now presented their argument for why they deserve a retrial, however, and are waiting on a decision.
His lawyers told the UK Court of Appeal today why they believe a retrial should be granted, with their central argument concerning Heard failing to follow through on her pledge to give her $7 million divorce settlement from her split with Johnny to charity. The actor’s reps blasted this as a “manipulative lie” that “tipped the scales” in her favor when presented as evidence in the original case.
In the first case in the UK High Court, Heard stated that she had donated the full amount to various charitable causes including L.A.’s Children Hospital Foundation and the American Civil Liberties Union, with this cited as a key reason she could not be characterized as a “gold digger.” Since Depp’s team discovered this wasn’t the truth, however, Heard’s reps have admitted that the donations have been “delayed,” and they blame all the legal actions against the actress, which have cost her millions of dollars, as the cause.
Depp and his team will have to wait to find out whether their appeal has been successful, though. “We are not going to reach an immediate decision today but we will make it very shortly and it will be handed down in writing,” declared Lord Justice Underhill of the UK Court of Appeal after the three-hour process had concluded.
This UK retrial appeal is separate from the $50 million US defamation case Johnny Depp plans to hit Amber Heard with, based on an article she wrote for The Washington Post about her alleged domestic abuse experience. That’s been delayed until April 2022, and it remains to be seen who’ll walk away on top.
