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Odds Open on Winner of Depp vs The Sun in UK Libel Case After Court Wraps Up – See Who’s Favored Here

JJ De La Torre

by JJ De La Torre in Entertainment

Updated Jul 28, 2020 · 2:00 PM PDT

Johnny Depp
Johnny Depp's court case against U.K. newspaper The Sun is coming to a head. Photo: Andy Templeton [Flickr]
  • After three weeks of testimony, the hearing has wrapped in the case of Johnny Depp versus The Sun
  • Depp sued the U.K. newspaper for libel after the publication called him a “wife beater” in 2018
  • While Judge Andrew Nicol deliberates over the court proceedings and evidence, you can bet on who will win the case

How did Johnny Depp go from one of Hollywood’s most beloved stars to having a bad reputation almost overnight? According to Depp, it happened afterU.K. newspaper The Sun branded him a “wife-beater”.

Depp’s now ex-wife Amber Heard accused him of verbal and physical abuse in 2018. Around the time of Heard’s accusation about Depp, The Sun published an article with the headline: “Gone Potty: How can JK Rowling be ‘genuinely happy’ casting wife-beater Johnny Depp in the new Fantastic Beasts film?”

Fast-forwarding to 2020, Depp has sued News Group Newspapers – publisher of The Sun – and executive editor Dan Wootton for libel. And now, after a three-week stint in London High Court,  Depp and The Sun await a verdict from Judge  Andrew Nicol.

Odds on Winner of Depp vs The Sun in UK Libel Court Case

Winner Odds
Johnny Depp -200
The Sun +150

Odds taken July 28

Depp’s lawyer David Sherborne claimed during the proceedings that The Sun‘s depiction of Depp was completely off the mark and off base.

Throughout the case’s closing statements, Sherborne called The Sun‘s reporting “completely untrue”. According to Sherborne, The Sun‘s characterization of Depp was “one-sided” and “not researched at all”. Sherborne says the paper had acted as “both judge and jury” in its characterization of Depp.

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Sherborne seemed unsatisfied by the court case, mentioning “this court has not heard from a single journalist” in reference to if the article was appropriate or not to be published. Sherborne went so far as to call the case “a deliberately and wholly one-sided manner.”

Throughout the trial, Depp’s friends and various witnesses painted a cleaner image of the star. While his drug use was acknowledged, the overarching narrative denied any signs of abuse. According to Sherborne, The Sun‘s allegations against Depp are “completely untrue”. as do the friends and other witnesses who testified during the three-week case.

Depp got vulnerable throughout the case as a last-ditch effort to win against The Sun. As Sherborne said, “Why else would Mr. Depp, this private man as he explained, expose all the most intimate details of his personal life?”

On the Sun-ny Side

On the flip side, The Sun is sticking to its guns. Lawyers for The Sun went on record to say they have “no doubt” Depp “systematically abused” Heard.

The Sun‘s 2018 story relied on Heard’s account of her relationship with Depp. Sherborne did his best to rip apart Heard’s vantage point, though. He claims, “From the big points even to the smaller ones, Ms. Heard has proven herself to be a wholly unreliable witness and, frankly, a compulsive liar.”

Sherborne noted that Heard’s initial account of two abusive instances has since bloated to “14 far more serious, more horrific allegations” and even notes that further evidence points Heard may be the one to have abused Depp.

Depp, Defamed

It’s a classic case of defamation. Since Heard’s claims, Depp has never faced any criminal charge of violence against her. With no actual legal marks against Depp, his record is clean as a whistle on paper.

While The Sun maintained their position against Depp’s character, they don’t have much of a chance of winning the case. The evidence in Depp vs. The Sun paints another picture altogether: that of a publication who published a story without doing their homework. They banked on clickbait without thinking about the consequences.

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Without any proper evidence securing their position that Depp indeed did abuse Heard, Depp’s walking away with this one in the bag.

 Pick: Johnny Depp (-200)

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