British justice on Thursday denied American actor Johnny Depp an appeal after his defeat against the Sun, who called him a violent husband towards his ex-wife Amber Heard.
At the end of hearings throwing a harsh light on the excesses of the Hollywood star, the actor of "Edward in the hands of money" and "Pirate of the Caribbean" had lost last November his defamation lawsuit in London against News Group Newspapers (NGN), publisher of The Sun, which had taken a heavy toll on its reputation.
He criticized the tabloid for having presented as a proven fact, in April 2018, that he was a violent husband, which he disputes.
Johnny Depp then seized the Court of Appeal.
But to obtain a new trial, his lawyers had to produce new evidence.
The Sun hails Amber Heard's "courageous testimony"
So last Thursday, Johnny Depp's lawyer Andrew Caldecott accused Amber Heard, 34, of lying when he said he had donated the $ 7 million obtained in the proceedings to associations. divorce, in order to appear in a favorable light.
According to the lawyer, the amount of donations made by the actress is much less.
But the appeals court ruled that there was no reason to believe the judge's decision was influenced by Amber Heard's statements about the donations.
In his judgment, Judge Andrew Nicol had notably relied on the donation of this sum to rule out the thesis, supported by Johnny Depp's lawyers, of an Amber Heard driven by the lure of profit.
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Trial of Johnny Depp against The Sun: the incredible unpacking
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The Sun welcomed the ruling on Thursday, hailing Amber Heard's "courageous testimony" in court, despite repeated attempts by the perpetrator to silence her. "
Following the judgment which he described as "surreal", the 57-year-old American actor had to give up his role in the next film in the series "Fantastic Beasts", adapted from the works of the author of Harry. Potter, JK Rowling.
14 episodes of violence, all disputed
Relying mainly on the statements of the American actress, the Sun had invoked in its defense 14 episodes of violence, all disputed by Johnny Depp.
After three weeks of hearing in July, Judge Nicol had ruled in favor of the tabloid.
He had estimated in his judgment that the Sun's qualifiers were "substantially true" because "the vast majority of the alleged assaults have been proven".
The first trial before the High Court, often in the presence of the actor and his ex-wife, had given rise to a great unpacking of their private life, sometimes in the most scabrous details.
The American actor had admitted an abusive consumption of drugs and alcohol, but claimed to have never raised a hand on a woman, supported on this point by the written testimonies of his ex-companions Vanessa Paradis and Winona Ryder.
He accused in return of violence the actress of "The Danish Girl" and "Aquaman".
Amber Heard, who had the status of witness in this trial, had meanwhile maintained her statements and lamented that the "most traumatic and intimate details" of her life with Johnny Depp were exposed in court, and "broadcast in the whole world ".
A trial scheduled for 2022
Johnny Depp and Amber Heard met on the set of "Rum Express" in 2011, before getting married in February 2015 in Los Angeles, California.
The couple had divorced with a bang in early 2017. The actress then spoke of "years" of "physical and psychological" violence, accusations strongly rejected by Johnny Depp.
She had withdrawn her complaint for violence in the divorce proceedings.
Johnny Depp has also initiated another defamation proceeding against Amber Heard in the United States, for a column published in 2018 in the Washington Post.
He's asking for $ 50 million.
The trial is scheduled for April 2022.
