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Johnny Depp sues over ‘wife beater’ article in British tabloid The Sun

  • Hollywood star is taking paper’s publisher and executive editor to court over report saying he had beat ex-spouse Amber Heard
  • Both Depp and Heard have accused each other of physical abuse during their relationship

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Actor Johnny Depp leaves the High Court in London on Wednesday after attending a hearing in his libel case against the publishers of The Sun and its executive editor, Dan Wootton. Photo: dpa
Reuters

Hollywood star Johnny Depp appeared in a London court on Wednesday to hear his lawyer argue that Depp’s ex-wife had lied when she accused him of beating her in comments quoted by the tabloid newspaper The Sun.

Depp, the 55-year-old star of the Pirates of the Caribbean films, is suing the tabloid’s publisher, News Group Newspapers, and its executive editor Dan Wootton for libel over an article Wootton wrote in 2018 calling Depp a “wife beater”.

Depp himself attended the High Court for the first day of the pre-trial review. The trial proper is due to start on March 23 and last two weeks.

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Both Depp and his ex-wife Amber Heard accused each other of physical abuse during their relationship. Heard first made allegations in 2016, which Depp denied.

Amber Heard arrives at the 35th Film Independent Spirit Awards on in Santa Monica, California, on February 8. Photo: AP
Amber Heard arrives at the 35th Film Independent Spirit Awards on in Santa Monica, California, on February 8. Photo: AP
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“One of them is lying and doing so on a grand scale,” said a skeleton argument submitted by Depp’s lawyers and distributed to journalists.

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