The Lawsuits Thread

Discuss the latest Johnny Depp news, his career, past and future projects, and other related issues.
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In-too-Depp
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Re: The Lawsuits Thread

Unread post by In-too-Depp » Tue Jul 28, 2020 10:38 am



Johnny Depp case: Lawyer says the Sun's story was 'not researched at all'

bbc.co.uk
28th July 2020

An article in the Sun describing Johnny Depp as a "wife-beater" was "one-sided" and "not researched at all", the actor's lawyer told the High Court.

In closing submissions for Mr Depp, David Sherborne said the paper acted as "both judge and jury".

Mr Depp is suing the newspaper's publisher and editor for libel, saying the allegation is "completely untrue".

The Sun's lawyers said on Monday there was "no doubt" he had "systematically abused" his former wife Amber Heard.

Around 30 fans of the actor were gathered in the main hall of the Royal Courts of Justice and screamed as the 57-year-old Hollywood star entered the building on the final day of the most high-profile British libel case so far in the 21st Century.

Mr Depp is suing News Group Newspapers (NGN) - publisher of the Sun - and executive editor Dan Wootton over an article published on the Sun's website on 27 April 2018 with the headline: "Gone Potty: How can JK Rowling be 'genuinely happy' casting wife beater Johnny Depp in the new Fantastic Beasts film?"

Mr Sherborne told the court the article meant Mr Depp was "guilty, on overwhelming evidence, of serious domestic violence" against Ms Heard, an actress and model, during their marriage.

He said it meant that the actor was unfit to work in the film industry and had paid £5m to compensate Ms Heard for causing significant injuries and making her fear for her life.

It also suggests Mr Depp had been "tried, convicted and sentenced", his barrister said.

Mr Sherborne referred sarcastically to the "journalistic excellence" the Sun was seeking to defend and said "this court has not heard from a single journalist" about the article.

It was presented in a "deliberately and wholly one-sided manner", although Mr Depp had never faced any criminal charge of violence against Ms Heard, the lawyer said.

He said Mr Depp knows the allegations are "completely untrue", as do the friends and other witnesses who testified during the three-week case.

"Why else would Mr Depp, this private man as he explained, expose all the most intimate details of his personal life?" Mr Sherborne said.

The lawyer said that most of the witnesses who gave evidence supporting Mr Depp in the case do not work for him and are not financially dependent on him.

Responding to claims that Mr Depp's drug use made him irrational, Mr Shelborne said his client had been open about using marijuana, MDMA and magic mushrooms.

He said Mr Depp also acknowledged taking cocaine, which did not turn him into "some sort of crazy monster" but countered the effects of the opioid addiction he developed after an injury on the set of Pirates of the Caribbean.

Mr Sherborne said the publisher relied on evidence from Ms Heard, "a complex individual with a complex history".

He said "it is hard to keep up" with the new allegations about domestic violence that have "tumbled out over the years" from Ms Heard.

Despite evidence from medical notes, she had "sought to play down" her own history of addiction to alcohol and cocaine, Mr Sherborne said.

And he said audio recordings revealed Ms Heard making a "straightforward, unambiguous, unequivocal admission of hitting" Mr Depp.

"Her physical violence towards him, her starting physical violence as she admits, make her the domestic abuser, not him," said Mr Sherborne.

On Monday, the legal team for NGN made its closing submissions, defending the Sun's article as true.

Sasha Wass, representing the publisher, said: "Having heard all the evidence in this case and all the supporting evidence of the incidents of violence, we suggest that there is no doubt that Mr Depp regularly and systematically abused his wife.

"The characterisation that he is a wife-beater is entirely truthful."

She said Mr Depp's lifestyle, "surrounded by a clique of ageing, male rabble-rousers with alcohol and drugs shared together", was "destroying his life, his career and his health".

Ms Wass said the actor had sought stability with Ms Heard, but "he grew to hate her for her protectiveness" and resented her telling him how he could end his addiction.

"Mr Depp has spent his entire adult life doing exactly what he wanted, and he was not about to answer to a woman at this stage in his life," she said.

The lawyer for NGN presented the relationship as a generational clash between a "modern and ambitious woman" and a "self-scripted Southern gentleman" who "required a supplicant wife". She said Mr Depp did not expect his wife to continue working with "young and attractive actors".

Ms Wass said the Hollywood star was subject to "irrational mood swings and abnormal behavioural patterns" because of his substance abuse. She told the court he gave these changes in behaviour a nickname - "The Monster".

She also said Mr Depp's memory of his "disgraceful conduct" was "so severely impaired by drug misuse that he may not even have been aware of the extent of his violence and terrifying behaviour".

In more than one incident, Ms Heard was put in fear of her life, the lawyer said.

Mr Justice Nicol has said that his judgement will be reserved for a later date.
And Wit, was his vain frivolous pretence
Of pleasing others, at his own expense

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justintime
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Re: The Lawsuits Thread

Unread post by justintime » Tue Jul 28, 2020 10:41 am

ForeverYoung wrote:
Mon Jul 27, 2020 12:31 pm
Transcript of closing argument posted today by Nick.

https://80b08171-ce73-4488-b369-fe3934b ... d7240f.pdf
ForeverYoung wrote:
Mon Jul 27, 2020 11:34 pm
Nick posted the transcript of today's hearing.

https://80b08171-ce73-4488-b369-fe3934b ... fb4c2b.pdf
Thank you, ForeverYoung. I’d forgotten there were two. The first was so much easier to read.
Assume the first transcript was the written argument and the second was the oral?
"Stay low." ~ JD
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gipsyblues
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Re: The Lawsuits Thread

Unread post by gipsyblues » Tue Jul 28, 2020 10:47 am

Lbock wrote:
Tue Jul 28, 2020 9:44 am
Here is an excellent article that includes live updates. Better than SkyNews I think, so far
https://www.standard.co.uk/news/uk/john ... 10101.html
:thankyou: Lbock :hug:

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Judymac
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Re: The Lawsuits Thread

Unread post by Judymac » Tue Jul 28, 2020 11:48 am

justintime wrote:
Tue Jul 28, 2020 10:41 am
ForeverYoung wrote:
Mon Jul 27, 2020 12:31 pm
Transcript of closing argument posted today by Nick.

https://80b08171-ce73-4488-b369-fe3934b ... d7240f.pdf
ForeverYoung wrote:
Mon Jul 27, 2020 11:34 pm
Nick posted the transcript of today's hearing.

https://80b08171-ce73-4488-b369-fe3934b ... fb4c2b.pdf
Thank you, ForeverYoung. I’d forgotten there were two. The first was so much easier to read.
Assume the first transcript was the written argument and the second was the oral?
Isn't this NGN'S closing?

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Re: The Lawsuits Thread

Unread post by AdeleAgain » Tue Jul 28, 2020 12:00 pm

David Sherborne's will presumably go up tonight. He must be exhausted!

I've been popping in and out - cannot wait to read tonight's transcript.

Sounds like he has directly called her a liar and hasn't held back. Seems like they focused alot on the Savannah letter and the fact that actually AH wrote it. That seems like such a small thing to focus on given all the other travesties but if she has freshly lied about that for the first time in that court - that will resonate with the judge. He will not like it. Does seem odd that Savannah would misspell her own name, several times.

Urgh and AH made a speech on the court steps - before the hearing had even finished. For the first time glad to hear some boos. Will the TV channels edit that out? I haven't steeled myself to watch it yet but please let it be as fake as everything else. Whatever the press may say, real people see through her. This case is honesty talk of the town and I have yet to find a single person defending her. Most don't have any details at all (other than that she messed the bed) but she cannot shake that fake, gold digger aura.

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Re: The Lawsuits Thread

Unread post by Lauraftsk » Tue Jul 28, 2020 12:03 pm

Omg her press conference in front of the Court :smh: :facepalm:

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Re: The Lawsuits Thread

Unread post by hollyberry » Tue Jul 28, 2020 12:08 pm

Sherborne has made an excellent closing argument, and it's interesting to see he's made similar comments to a lot of people here, regarding how apparently everyone's lying except Amber. :mad2:

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Re: The Lawsuits Thread

Unread post by ForeverYoung » Tue Jul 28, 2020 12:32 pm

Judymac wrote:
Tue Jul 28, 2020 11:48 am
justintime wrote:
Tue Jul 28, 2020 10:41 am
ForeverYoung wrote:
Mon Jul 27, 2020 12:31 pm
Transcript of closing argument posted today by Nick.

https://80b08171-ce73-4488-b369-fe3934b ... d7240f.pdf
ForeverYoung wrote:
Mon Jul 27, 2020 11:34 pm
Nick posted the transcript of today's hearing.

https://80b08171-ce73-4488-b369-fe3934b ... fb4c2b.pdf
Thank you, ForeverYoung. I’d forgotten there were two. The first was so much easier to read.
Assume the first transcript was the written argument and the second was the oral?
Isn't this NGN'S closing?
Yes, it is NGN's closing. One is the official papers submitted and the other is a transcript of the hearing.
“Growing old is unavoidable, but never growing up is possible."

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Re: The Lawsuits Thread

Unread post by ForeverYoung » Tue Jul 28, 2020 12:35 pm

AdeleAgain wrote:
Tue Jul 28, 2020 12:00 pm
David Sherborne's will presumably go up tonight. He must be exhausted!

I've been popping in and out - cannot wait to read tonight's transcript.

Sounds like he has directly called her a liar and hasn't held back. Seems like they focused alot on the Savannah letter and the fact that actually AH wrote it. That seems like such a small thing to focus on given all the other travesties but if she has freshly lied about that for the first time in that court - that will resonate with the judge. He will not like it. Does seem odd that Savannah would misspell her own name, several times.

Urgh and AH made a speech on the court steps - before the hearing had even finished. For the first time glad to hear some boos. Will the TV channels edit that out? I haven't steeled myself to watch it yet but please let it be as fake as everything else. Whatever the press may say, real people see through her. This case is honesty talk of the town and I have yet to find a single person defending her. Most don't have any details at all (other than that she messed the bed) but she cannot shake that fake, gold digger aura.
Boy...I've said it before and I'll say it again. AMBER HEARD IS SOME PIECE OF WORK!!! She isn't even a defendant in the case but there she was doing a press conf. in front of the court house to get attention, probably because she has no work and has to stay relevant somehow.
“Growing old is unavoidable, but never growing up is possible."

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Re: The Lawsuits Thread

Unread post by Moonbeam » Tue Jul 28, 2020 2:00 pm

Has anyone seen the video of Johnny leaving the courthouse today after his closing arguments.?
I am angry at AH having the Audacity to give a speech before court proceedings have even concluded!! :grr:
I would just like to see his triumphal exit from this nightmare!! :bouquet:
"Music touches us emotionally, where words alone can't."-- "The truth will come out...and I will be standing on the other side of the roaring rapids. I hope other people will too." --Johnny Depp #justiceforjohnnydepp

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Re: The Lawsuits Thread

Unread post by Chocolat » Tue Jul 28, 2020 2:20 pm

ForeverYoung wrote:
Tue Jul 28, 2020 12:35 pm
AdeleAgain wrote:
Tue Jul 28, 2020 12:00 pm
David Sherborne's will presumably go up tonight. He must be exhausted!

I've been popping in and out - cannot wait to read tonight's transcript.

Sounds like he has directly called her a liar and hasn't held back. Seems like they focused alot on the Savannah letter and the fact that actually AH wrote it. That seems like such a small thing to focus on given all the other travesties but if she has freshly lied about that for the first time in that court - that will resonate with the judge. He will not like it. Does seem odd that Savannah would misspell her own name, several times.

Urgh and AH made a speech on the court steps - before the hearing had even finished. For the first time glad to hear some boos. Will the TV channels edit that out? I haven't steeled myself to watch it yet but please let it be as fake as everything else. Whatever the press may say, real people see through her. This case is honesty talk of the town and I have yet to find a single person defending her. Most don't have any details at all (other than that she messed the bed) but she cannot shake that fake, gold digger aura.
Boy...I've said it before and I'll say it again. AMBER HEARD IS SOME PIECE OF WORK!!! She isn't even a defendant in the case but there she was doing a press conf. in front of the court house to get attention, probably because she has no work and has to stay relevant somehow.


Wouldn't that be considered contempt of court? As I understand it, court had not adjourned yet. The lack of respect from her and her sister (coming to court in a fine knit dress without a bra) just show how they feel entitled to do whatever they please. They must be two very angry and sad people that feel unloved.
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Through the years, for the many xoxo's, giggles & kindness...
thank you & love you Johnny.

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In-too-Depp
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Re: The Lawsuits Thread

Unread post by In-too-Depp » Tue Jul 28, 2020 2:31 pm

Moonbeam wrote:
Tue Jul 28, 2020 2:00 pm
Has anyone seen the video of Johnny leaving the courthouse today after his closing arguments.?
I am angry at AH having the Audacity to give a speech before court proceedings have even concluded!! :grr:
I would just like to see his triumphal exit from this nightmare!! :bouquet:
I haven't seen any video but here's some pics before he left.
And Wit, was his vain frivolous pretence
Of pleasing others, at his own expense

Rochester ,"Satyr" on Man

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Re: The Lawsuits Thread

Unread post by AdeleAgain » Tue Jul 28, 2020 2:44 pm

I've said for three weeks I wish people wouldn't boo her - well now I am glad they did. That was cringeworthy. Honestly - after all of this she is still playing the victim card. It's awful - how stupid does she and her advisers think people are. She cannot act. She is utterly unlikeable, unbelievable and unconvincing. I just hope the booing ensures there are no more invitations to speak at events on behalf of women, victims or whatever else she spouts off about.

I am going to sit back now and enjoy what Mr Sherborne has to say.

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Re: The Lawsuits Thread

Unread post by meeps » Tue Jul 28, 2020 3:08 pm

I have a bit of video of what our sweetie was doing while they were driving away :truefan:


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In-too-Depp
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Re: The Lawsuits Thread

Unread post by In-too-Depp » Tue Jul 28, 2020 3:23 pm

meeps wrote:
Tue Jul 28, 2020 3:08 pm
I have a bit of video of what our sweetie was doing while they were driving away :truefan:

Thanks meeps, here it is.
And Wit, was his vain frivolous pretence
Of pleasing others, at his own expense

Rochester ,"Satyr" on Man