Depp v News Group Newspapers Ltd

News Group relied on a legal defence of truth, with the civil burden of proof on it to show that the claim was substantially accurate on the balance of probabilities. On 2 November 2020, the court ruled in favour of News Group.[4][5] Mr Justice Nicol found that assaults were proven to the civil standard in 12 of the 14 incidents reported by Heard,[6] and this with the overarching considerations was sufficient to show that The Sun's article was substantially accurate on the balance of probabilities.[7]

Depp plans to appeal the verdict, with a representative of his law firm saying, "Most troubling is the judge's reliance on the testimony of Amber Heard, and corresponding disregard of the mountain of counter-evidence from police officers, medical practitioners, her own former assistant, other unchallenged witnesses and an array of documentary evidence which completely undermined the allegations, point by point. All of this was overlooked. The judgment is so flawed that it would be ridiculous for Mr Depp not to appeal this decision."[8] The appeal was denied on 25 November 2020, with the judge arguing it had "no realistic prospect of success", though he did allow Depp’s legal team to appeal directly to the Court of Appeals by 7 December 2020 if they wished to overturn his judgement.[9][10] The appeal was later filed to the Court of Appeals, with Depp’s lawyer claiming he was not given a fair trial and asking for the case to be retried.[11]

Following the publication of the verdict, NGN issued 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."[7] Heard's lawyer, Elaine Charlson Bredehof, who represents her in the related defamation case in the US, stated that "For those of us present for the London high court trial, this decision and judgment are not a surprise. Very soon, we will be presenting even more voluminous evidence in the US. We are committed to obtaining justice for Amber Heard in the US court and defending Ms Heard’s right to free speech."[7]

Lisa King of domestic violence charity Refuge said, "This is an important ruling and one which we hope sends a very powerful message: every single survivor of domestic abuse should be listened to and should be heard. No survivor should ever have her voice silenced. A common tactic used by perpetrators of domestic abuse is to repeatedly tell victims that no one will believe them and to use power and control to try and silence them. What we have seen today is that power, fame and financial resources cannot be used to silence women. That is a welcome message for survivors of domestic abuse around the world. We stand in solidarity with Amber Heard, who has shown immense bravery in speaking up and speaking out".[7]

Labour MP Jess Phillips said Heard was subject to a "character assassination" in the media. Phillips stated that "abused women are not all one type of perfect picture of victimhood who would incite sympathy from everyone they met."[12]

As a result of this verdict, Depp stepped down from his role as Gellert Grindelwald in the Fantastic Beasts film series at the request of Warner Bros. He was subsequently replaced by Mads Mikkelsen.[13][14]

It has been reported that Heard was subject to anonymous death threats and harassment on social media.[12] In August 2020, Heard filed a lawsuit against Depp claiming that he and his team "orchestrated a false and defamatory smear campaign" against her and that they allegedly "controlled and/or manipulated" social media accounts with the goal of targeting Heard.[15]

Following the verdict, an old petition to bring back Depp to the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise resurfaced, receiving over 300,000 signatures. Jessica Rawden of Cinema Blend stated that the petition was unviable as a new film in the series would be less financially viable even without the controversy surrounding Depp.[16] Another petition for Depp to return in the third Fantastic Beasts film received over 150,000 signatures.[17][18] A petition to remove Heard from the upcoming Aquaman sequel received a million signatures as well.[19] Heard condemned the petition and called it a "paid campaign". In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, she stated: "Paid rumours and paid campaigns on social media don’t dictate [casting decisions] because they have no basis in reality. Only the fans actually made Aquaman and Aquaman 2 happen. I’m excited to get started next year.”[20][21]

• Depp v News Group Newspapers on the website of the High Court of Justice
• Court documents and transcripts on the website of Nick Wallis