Johnny Depp loses libel case against The Sun over article labelling him a “wife beater”

The court delivered its ruling on Monday morning.

Actor Johnny Depp has lost his high-profile libel case against The Sun over the newspaper's reporting of him as a "wife beater". Depp, the star of such Hollywood blockbusters as Pirates of the Caribbean and Fantastic Beasts, brought the libel case against the Sun’s publisher, News Group Newspapers (NGN), and its executive editor, Dan Wootton, over a story which he claimed damaged his reputation. The original story carried the headline: 'Gone Potty: How can JK Rowling be ‘genuinely happy’ casting wife beater Johnny Depp in the new Fantastic Beasts film? The ruling, delivered by Mr Justice Nicol and published online this morning, found that the newspaper did enough to justify its reporting of Depp as a "wife beater". Under UK law, The Sun had to prove its reporting to be true on the balance of probabilities, while Depp had to prove that his reputation had suffered "serious harm". In response to the ruling, The Sun released a statement, saying: "The Sun has stood up and campaigned for the victims of domestic abuse for over 20 years. Domestic abuse victims must never be silenced and we thank the judge for his careful consideration and thank Amber Heard for her courage in giving evidence to the court."