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Lawyers Claim ‘Wealth of Evidence’ Against Johnny Depp as Closing Arguments Unfold
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Johnny Depp did not appear at London’s Royal Courts of Justice on Monday, as his libel case against Rupert Murdoch’s U.K. tabloid The Sun and executive editor Dan Wootton entered its penultimate day of hearings. His ex-wife, “Aquaman” actress Amber Heard, was present and in good spirits.
Delivering the defense’s final submission, The Sun attorney Sasha Wass described the “Pirates of the Caribbean” actor as “a hopeless addict who repeatedly lost his self-control and all ability to restrain his anger.”
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Depp is suing News Group Newspapers and Wootton for an article on The Sun’s website that described him as a “wife beater.” Depp denies that he was ever violent toward Heard, to whom he was married from 2015 to 2017.
Wass said allegations of violence by Heard against Depp during one night in December 2015 is backed by a “wealth of evidence.”
Wass displayed a picture of the former couple to the court in order to demonstrate that Heard “lacked the physical capabilities to be the successful party in any fight.” She also detailed instances where Depp allegedly described Heard using sexually derogatory terms.
“Permeating all of the evidence in this case is the character of Mr. Depp himself — his well-documented evidence of violence and destruction over his adult life, which have occurred when he was under the influence of drink and drugs,” Wass said.
“The other aspect, which is important in terms of substance abuse, is Mr. Depp’s recollection of his own disgraceful conduct, which is so severely impaired by drug misuse that he may not even have been aware of the extent of his violence and terrifying behavior which, on more than one of these pleaded incidents, put Ms. Heard in fear of her life,” Wass added.
Depp denies all allegations of violence against him that were raised over the last three weeks in court, and in turn, accused Heard of being the perpetrator.
The final speeches are on Tuesday, during which Depp is expected to be present. The judgement can be delivered at any point after that, with the losing party granted the right to appeal.
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