Billed as the biggest 21-century English libel suit, Johnny Depp’s 16-day legal battle with Rupert Murdoch’s tabloid tabloid newspaper, The Sun, ended Tuesday after both sides presented their final arguments in High Court. .
Judge Justice Nicol will now take the next few weeks to deliberate on a verdict, which he is not expected to deliver until September at the earliest. It is likely to be a long wait for Depp, who has gambled on her reputation in the often ugly smear action, in which she has tried to refute The Sun’s claim that she is a “handcuff puncher.”
the Pirates of the Caribbean Star was present in the Superior Court during all the days of the process, as was his ex-wife Amber Heard, who filed 14 reports of abuse against Depp. These formed the backbone of the defense of the owner of The Sun News Group Newspapers.
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On the court steps on Tuesday night, Heard acknowledged that there had been three bruises over three weeks and said it had been “incredibly painful to relive the breakup of my relationship.” Depp vehemently denies his allegations, with his attorney David Sherborne telling the court in his closing remarks that Heard is a “compulsive liar” and that his client “is not an abuser.”
When Judge Nicol issues his verdict, it will come down to this: If the judge rules in Depp’s favor, he will effectively exonerate him from claims that he assaulted Heard. If the decision goes against the actor, he will ultimately be considered a “handcuff puncher” in an English court of law.
But it is unlikely to be the end of the matter. Depp is suing Heard for $ 50 million in Virginia over a column in the Washington Post that wrote about domestic violence, a case that could reopen all the injuries that have been collected in detail over the past three weeks in London.
Below is a summary of some of the most explosive moments of the defamation battle in chronological order:
July 07: In opening remarks, Depp’s legal team said he is seeking “vindication”, not harm from The Sun. “Depp is guilty of being a batterer for having assaulted his ex-wife numerous times, causing the most terrible injuries, or has been charged in a very serious and unfair manner,” Sherborne said.
July 8: Upon arriving at the witness stand, Depp denied slapping Heard after she laughed at his “Wino Forever” tattoo. “I did not hit Ms. Heard,” he told the court.
July 8: The court heard the content of an unsent email that Heard wrote to Depp, detailing his alleged “Dr. Jekyll and Mr Hyde” personality during their relationship. You’ve hit me repeatedly. Something you should never have done. What a cursed man you are, ”he wrote.
July 10th: A “defecation incident” in which feces were found in Depp and Heard’s bed was an “appropriate ending” to the couple’s relationship, Depp said. He was “convinced” that it was herself, or one of her friends, who was involved in the episode.
July 13: Depp said he had no intention of hitting Heard during an alleged heated dispute between the couple in the Los Angeles penthouse. The discussion took place the night before Heard appeared on The Late Late Show with James Corden.
July 14: The court is told that Heard wrote in his diary about a “terrible” fight with her ex-husband Depp on a train trip during their 2015 honeymoon in Southeast Asia. “Johnny … at one point she found her shirt wrapped around my neck,” she wrote.
July 15: Former Depp estate manager Ben King recalled how he found the actor’s severed finger after an alleged altercation with Heard in Australia in 2015. Heard claimed the actor was injured while hitting a phone against the wall, but Depp alleged that the injury was the result of I heard him throw a bottle of vodka at him.
July 16th: Depp’s former lovers, Winona Ryder and Vanessa Paradis, are removed from the witness stand, but their witness statements are released in their defense. “The idea that he is an incredibly violent person is the furthest thing from the Johnny I knew and loved. I cannot understand these accusations. He was never, he was never violent towards me. He was never, never abusive at all towards me. It has never been violent or abusive to anyone I have seen, ”said Ryder.
July 17th: Among the many subplots in the trial were allegations of Heard’s interactions with other men during his relationship with Depp. Alejandro Romero, a custodian in Depp’s attic in Los Angeles, said that Tesla founder Elon Musk regularly visited Heard late at night while Depp was away.
July 20th: She heard her evidence and said that Depp scared her for her life. “Some incidents were so severe that I feared that he would kill me, either intentionally or simply by losing control and going too far. He explicitly threatened to kill me many times, especially later in our relationship, “he said.
July 21: Heard admitting he hit Depp to keep him from pushing his sister down the stairs after recalling a “rumor” that he had done the same to Kate Moss. “I hit Johnny that day in defense of my sister. I was about to push him down the stairs and, a moment before that happened, I remembered the information I had heard (that) pushed an ex-girlfriend, I think it was Kate Moss, down the stairs. I had heard this rumor from two people and it was fresh in my mind, ”he said.
July 23th: The court is informed of Heard’s text messages to his mother by calling Depp violent. “He’s crazy, mom. Violent and crazy. I am heartbroken because it is whom I love, “she wrote.
July 24: Johnny Depp’s attorneys said they had been provided with a video from “an anonymous source” who they say heard Heard “attacked” his sister. The footage showed Whitney Henríquez while filming a reality TV show, and one person heard her say, “Did you get into a fight?” and then “I can’t believe Amber hitting your ass.”
