It’s another loss for Johnny Depp in the UK court.
The actor had attempted to appeal the previous ruling in his case against British tabloid The Sun, which found that a headline calling Johnny a “wife beater” was “substantially true.” The 57-year-old hoped to overturn the ruling based on what his team called “new evidence” — specifically, that Amber Heard had not donated her divorce settlement to charity as she had promised — against the character of his ex-wife.
Related: Johnny Was FIRED From Fantastic Beasts After Losing Libel Suit!
Unfortunately for Johnny, he won’t get the chance. Judges denied his right to appeal on Thursday, ruling that such a case had “no real prospect of success.” They stated:
“The hearing before (Mr Justice) Nicol was full and fair, and he gave thorough reasons for his conclusions which have not been shown even arguably to be vitiated by any error of approach or mistake of law.”
The ruling went on:
“We would accordingly dismiss both Mr Depp’s application for permission to adduce further evidence and his application for permission to appeal.”
A spokesperson for the Aquaman actress shared:
“We are pleased — but by no means surprised — by the court’s denial of Mr. Depp’s application for appeal. The evidence presented in the UK case was overwhelming and undeniable. To reiterate, the original verdict was that Mr Depp committed domestic violence against Amber on no fewer than 12 occasions and she was left in fear of her life. The verdict and lengthy, well-reasoned judgment, including the confidential judgment, have been affirmed. Mr Depp’s claim of new and important evidence was nothing more than a press strategy, and has been soundly rejected by the court.”
Meanwhile, The Sun‘s lawyers declared the ruling a “victory for the freedom of the press and for victims of domestic violence everywhere.” They said in a statement:
“The Sun had every confidence that this leave to appeal application would not be granted and are pleased with today’s decision. The case had a full, fair and proper hearing, and today’s decision vindicates the courageous evidence that Amber Heard gave to the court about domestic abuse, despite repeated attempts to undermine and silence her by the perpetrator. The Sun will continue to stand up and campaign for victims of domestic abuse.”
Not sure how altruistic The Sun’s intentions were in this whole situation, but sure!
Related: Amber Finally ‘Fighting Back’ With $100 Million Countersuit Against Johnny
The Pirates of the Caribbean star’s UK lawyer also released a statement in response, saying:
“The evidence presented at last week’s hearing (the appeal of Mr. Depp vs. News Group Newspapers LTD) further demonstrates that there are clear and objective reasons to seriously question the decision reached in the UK court. Mr. Depp looks forward to presenting the complete, irrefutable evidence of the truth in the US libel case against Ms. Heard where she will have to provide full disclosure.”
Personally, we can’t say we’re looking forward to this messy relationship being front and center again when the case is tried in the US in April 2022. We can’t imagine what more there is to excavate from this toxic couple. But hey, at least we won’t have to relive it all a third time in the UK!
[Image via Apega/WENN/Avalon]
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