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Johnny Depp And Amber Heard’s UK Libel Case Wraps Up After 3 Weeks

By Modupeoluwa Adekanye
29 July 2020   |   10:17 am
Johnny Depp's libel case against News Group Newspaper has concluded at London's High Court after three weeks of shocking revelations about the former couple's turbulent marriage. The trial came to an end on Monday, with the judgement expected to be handed down in October in a report by The Mirror. Depp, 57, is suing NGN…

Johnny Depp And Amber Heard’s UK Libel Case Wraps Up After 3 Weeks

Johnny Depp’s libel case against News Group Newspaper has concluded at London’s High Court after three weeks of shocking revelations about the former couple’s turbulent marriage.

The trial came to an end on Monday, with the judgement expected to be handed down in October in a report by The Mirror.

Depp, 57, is suing NGN for libel over a story published in The Sun in 2018 which branded him a “wife-beater” – an allegation he strenuously denies.

If Depp is successful in his claim, the judge will have to decide what level of compensation he should receive, while he could be ordered to pay NGN’s legal fees if it doesn’t go his way.

General damages in libel cases are capped at £300,000 to £325,000.

Depp spent three days giving evidence, while Heard was in the witness box for four days.

The court also heard from several of Depp’s former employees, including his assistant Stephen Dueters, Heard’s sister Whitney Henriquez and her acting coach Kristina Sexton, among others.

During the trial, Depp denied he’d ever been violent towards his ex-wife Amber Heard and claimed she’d been abusive towards him during their relationship.

The court heard allegations of violence from both sides, as well as testimony about a poo being left in the marital bed, a scene of destruction at the former couple’s rented home in Australia, and Depp’s severed finger.

Depp denied ever being violent towards his ex-wife and insisted she was the one who was abusive towards him.

The star claimed Heard and her friends had left a pile of excrement in the marital bed after her 30th birthday party at their Los Angeles home in April 2016.

He said he was so disgusted by the incident, he resolved to end the marriage that day.

In his witness statement, Depp claimed:

I understand that the following morning [after the party] Heard (or possibly one of her friends) defecated in our shared bed. I resolved to divorce Heard on that day.

In another case, Depp admitted scrawling messages in his own blood throughout the house, which was described as looking like a scene from horror movie The Shining by Heard’s sister Whitney in her witness statement.

During her testimony, Heard also claimed that Depp threw 30 bottles at he “like grenades” and she was left with cuts on her arms and feet.

The actor denied being violent towards Heard and insisted she was the one who attacked him.

One of the most hotly-disputed incidents brought up during the trial was an incident that allegedly took place on a private jet from Boston to Los Angeles in 2014.

Heard alleged Depp called her a “whore”, kicked her in the back, and then laughed when she cried.

An email written by the actress, but was never sent, was read out in court in which she detailed the allegations against her husband.

Heard wrote:

The man I love and want to marry called me an embarrassment and a whore, among other things, in front of a plane full of people who did NOTHING before kicking me – kicking me in the back and then mocked me for crying about it immediately after.

Depp denied kicking Heard on the plane, while his assistant Stephen Dueters also testified that despite being seated close to the couple, he did not see any alleged kick.

During the trial, Depp denied he’d ever been violent towards his ex-wife and claimed she’d been abusive towards him during their relationship.

Lawyers for NGN are defending their case based on Heard’s 14 allegations of abuse, which include claims of bust-ups between 2013 and 2016.

The judgement is expected to be handed down in October.

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