Johnny Depp has been denied permission to appeal a ruling against the actor, which said that the newspaper The Sun was justified in calling him a “wife beater.”
According to The Times, the actor must pay £628,000 ($840,452.400) in legal costs to the British tabloid for his failed libel action against the paper.
Depp had sued The Sun for libel over an August 2018 story that called the star a “wife-beater” in his relationship with now ex-wife Amber Heard. Earlier this month, Justice Andrew Nicol said that News Group Newspapers and Sun executive editor Dan Wootton had proved that the tabloid’s story was “substantially true.” His ruling concluded, “I have found that the great majority of alleged assaults of Ms. Heard by Mr. Depp have been proved to the civil standard.”
Depp’s team had said at the time that they would appeal the decision. “The judgment is so flawed that it would be ridiculous for Mr. Depp not to appeal this decision,” attorney Jenny Afia said in a statement.
During a months-long trial, Depp had admitted to ongoing drug and alcohol issues but insisted that the tabloid’s claims of his violent behavior to Heard were “completely untrue.” The two actors, who met on the set of the 2011 film “The Rum Diary,” married in 2015 and divorced two years later after a one-year separation.
The judge also found evidence of 12 episodes of domestic violence and dismissed Depp’s claim that Heard had “constructed a hoax.” He further concluded that Depp’s accusations of abusive by Heard “had a negative effect on her career as an actor and activist.”
Following the judge’s decision, Depp was forced to quit Warner Bros.’ “Fantastic Beasts 3.” Mads Mikkelsen has been in talks to replace the actor.
A spokesperson for Depp has not yet responded to TheWrap’s request for comment.
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