Pirates Of The Caribbean star Johnny Depp was unable to convince the High Court he was not violent towards ex-wife Amber Heard.


Three months after the high profile three-week trial, Judge Justice Nicol has now ruled that the tabloid did have enough evidence to justify reporting that Depp was violent towards ex-wife Amber Heard on at least one occasion during their relationship.

The newspaper published a column titled "Gone Potty: How can JK Rowling be 'genuinely happy' casting wife beater Johnny Depp in the new Fantastic Beasts film?" in April 2018, written by their executive editor Dan Wootton.

The Hollywood star has always strenuously denied claims he was violent towards Heard in any way.

UK law means Depp had to prove he had suffered "serious harm" to his reputation through the publication of the article, while The Sun's publisher News Group Newspapers (NGN) had to prove what they reported was true on the balance of probabilities.

Depp's lawyers had argued that various factors - including his presentation in the article alongside disgraced producer Harvey Weinstein - meant that "only a very substantial award" would compensate and vindicate him.

In practice, there is a limit of £325,000 ($415,000) on general damages, however additional compensation can be added for "aggravating" factors.

SkyNews