American Actor Johnny Depp said that he is resigning from the ‘Fantastic Beasts’ movie franchise after losing a libel case in Britain against a tabloid that called him a ‘wife beater’
In a statement released by the super actor on Instagram on Friday, he said “My resolve remains strong and I intend to prove that the allegations against me are false. My life and career will not be defined by this moment in time.”
Depp and Paradis announced their separation in June 2012, and Depp subsequently began dating actress and model Amber Heard, whom he had met on the set of The Rum Diary in 2009. They were married in a private civil ceremony at their home in Los Angeles in February 2015. Heard filed for divorce from Depp on May 23, 2016, and obtained a temporary restraining order against him, stating in her court declaration that he had been “verbally and physically abusive” throughout their relationship. In response, Depp’s lawyers alleged that she was “attempting to secure a premature financial resolution by alleging abuse. Heard testified about the abuse under oath at a divorce court deposition. Evidence of the alleged abuse from her court filings was also published in the media. A settlement was reached on August 16, 2016, and the divorce was finalized in January 2017. Heard dismissed the restraining order, and the former couple issued a joint statement saying that their “relationship was intensely passionate and at times volatile, but always bound by love. Neither party has made false accusations for financial gain. There was never any intent of physical or emotional harm.” Depp paid Heard a settlement of US$7 million, which she donated to charity.
In early 2019, Depp sued Heard for US$50 million for defamation over an op–ed she wrote for The Washington Post in December 2018, which he alleges “depended on the central premise that Ms. Heard was a domestic abuse victim and that Mr. Depp perpetrated domestic violence against her,” despite it not mentioning Depp or any of the alleged incidences of violence perpetrated by him. Heard has asked a judge to dismiss the lawsuit—which Depp filed in Virginia—so that the case could be tried in California, where some of the incidents took place and most of the witnesses reside. As part of the suit, Depp submitted documents claiming that Heard had in fact physically abused him during the marriage rather than the other way around, a claim which Heard denies. In early 2020, Depp released audio recordings of conversations between himself and Heard, which he alleges corroborate some of the claims he had previously made in his lawsuit.
Depp also brought a libel lawsuit in England against News Group Newspapers, the company publishing The Sun, which had called him a “wifebeater” in a 2018 article. On November 2, 2020, the High Court of Justice ruled that Depp had lost his claim and that “the great majority of alleged assaults of Ms Heard by Mr Depp [12 out 14] have been proved to the civil standard.” Depp plans to appeal the decision.
