Johnny Depp a Wife-Beater? Actor Restarts Fight To Clear His Name
Johnny Depp's fight against The Sun's wife-beater claims is not over just yet.
On November 2, Judge Justice Nicol dismissed Depp's claims and ruled the verdict in favor of the defendant. Although he initially lost his libel case against The Sun in the UK High Court, the actor is not backing down as he plans to appeal the decision.
Over a month since the verdict had been made, Depp moves forward and is now attempting to overturn the High Court's ruling.
The "Pirates of the Caribbean" actor fought back by applying directly to the UK Court of Appeal to prove that he's truly a victim.
According to Press Association (via Deadline), his application to the Court of Appeal will continue the legal showdown, which caused him to lose his role in the "Fantastic Beasts" franchise.
The exact grounds for the said appeal have not been obtained by any news outlet yet.
However, it is worth noting that he expressed his desire to appeal after Judge Nicol read the adjudication and revealed that the wife beater claims were substantially true.
"The surreal judgment of the court in the UK will not change my fight to tell the truth and I confirm that I plan to appeal," he said in a statement on Instagram as he announced his departure from Warner Bros.
The actor's move came weeks after the UK High Court clarified that its final verdict is no longer arguable. Thus, they rejected Depp's request to appeal.
In November, BBC reported that Depp failed to gain approval to appeal and clear his name against the ruling about him being a wife-beater.
The news outlet added that the presiding judge reasoned his appeal does not contain any reasonable undertaking.
"I do not consider that the proposed grounds of appeal have a reasonable prospect of success," the judge said, per The Guardian.
However, Judge Nicol gave Depp a chance to directly apply to the Court of Appeal until December 7.
It remains unclear whether he followed the deadline. However, the judge already demanded him to give around $750,000 to The Sun's publisher, News Group Newspapers, to cover their legal fees.
What Is Depp Fighting For?
The 16-day legal trial at the Royal Courts of Justice in London already ended, but Depp's plan to reveal his side of the story remains.
During that stretch in July, the estranged ex-couple dropped some damning evidence against each other. Amber Heard offered her support to The Sun and served as many claims as possible.
The two also unrolled their own versions of abuse and physical alteration that happened between them from 2013 to 2016.
Among Heard's claims include Depp's alter-ego she called a "monster."
"He would blame all his actions on a self-created third party instead of himself, which he often called 'the monster'," Heard said. "Some incidents were so severe that I was afraid he was going to kill me, either intentionally, or just by losing control and going too far."
Meanwhile, Depp and his supporters continue to try bringing back the actor's grace, especially in the Hollywood scene.
