Johnny Depp did not appear in the London Courts of Justice on Monday, as his defamation case against Rupert Murdoch’s British newspaper The Sun and executive editor Dan Wootton entered his penultimate day of hearings. His ex-wife, “Aquaman” actress, Amber Heard, was in attendance and in a good mood.
Delivering the defense’s final presentation, The Sun’s attorney Sasha Wass described the “Pirates of the Caribbean” actor as “a desperate addict who repeatedly lost his self-control and all the ability to contain his anger.”
Depp is suing News Group Newspapers and Wootton over an article on The Sun’s website that described him as a “handcuff puncher.” Depp denies having been violent towards Heard, whom he was married to between 2015 and 2017.
Wass said Heard’s accusations of violence against Depp overnight in December 2015 are backed by a “large body of evidence.”
Wass showed a photo of the former couple to court to demonstrate that Heard “lacked the physical capabilities to be the successful party in any fight.” He also detailed cases in which Depp allegedly described Heard using sexually derogatory terms.
“Permeating all the evidence in this case is the character of Mr. Depp himself: his well-documented evidence of violence and destruction during his adult life, which occurred when he was under the influence of drinking and drugs,” Wass said.
“The other aspect, which is important in terms of substance abuse, is Mr. Depp’s recollection of his own shameful behavior, which is so badly affected by drug abuse that he may not even have been aware of the scope of her violence and terrifying behavior which, in more than one of these alleged incidents, caused Ms. Heard to fear for her life, “added Wass.
Depp denies all the allegations of violence against him that have been brought up in the past three weeks in court and, in turn, accused Heard of being the perpetrator.
The final speeches are on Tuesday, during which Depp is expected to be present. The judgment can be issued at any time after that, with the losing party granted the right to appeal.
