# Johnny Depp loses libel case against tabloid over ‘wife beater’ claim

The ruling from Justice Nicol, the judge presiding over the case in the U.K., said that the reporting was proved to be “substantially true,” meaning that publication of the defamatory comments wasn’t libelous.

The ruling comes months after the three-week trial in July between the Hollywood actor and the publishers of one of the U.K.’s most highly-circulated daily papers.

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The trial laid bare Depp and Heard’s relationship, with the court hearing allegations of verbal and physical misconduct, as well as drug and alcohol abuse.

The two Hollywood stars were married in 2015, but separated the next year and divorced in 2017.

Depp’s lawsuit targeted an article published in 2018 by The Sun called “Gone Potty: How can JK Rowling be ‘genuinely happy’ casting wife beater Johnny Depp in the new ‘Fantastic Beasts’ film?” The article was written by the newspaper’s executive editor, Dan Wootton.

The actor is also suing Heard personally for $50 million. The case, which will be heard in a U.S. court in Virginia, is over an article she wrote in the Washington Post on speaking up about sexual violence. 

Depp has maintained that he was never violent toward Heard.