UK court rejects Johnny Depp’s bid to appeal ‘wife beater’ libel ruling

A High Court judge last year concluded the actor had violently assaulted his ex-wife Amber Heard

In her evidence, Heard said Depp would turn into a jealous alter ego after bingeing on drugs and had threatened to kill her

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Published: 7:18pm, 25 Mar 2021Updated: 8:11pm, 25 Mar 2021

London’s Court of Appeal on Thursday refused Johnny Depp permission to challenge a verdict last year that concluded the Hollywood actor was a “wife beater”, meaning he has exhausted his legal fight against the ruling in Britain.

High Court judge Andrew Nicol ruled in November against Depp, star of films including Pirates of the Caribbean and Edward Scissorhands, after he brought a libel case against The Sun tabloid newspaper.

After three weeks of hearings last summer, Nicol concluded Depp, 57, had violently assaulted his ex-wife, actress Amber Heard, 34, during a tempestuous five-year relationship, putting her in fear of her life.

“As we have said, it is not easy to persuade this court to overturn the findings of a trial judge on purely factual questions,” the two Court of Appeal judges said in their judgment.

“We do not believe that there is a real prospect of it being prepared to do so in this case.”

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