Johnny Depp’s high-profile libel claim against The Sun’s publisher ignores allegations that he was violent towards his ex-wife Amber Heard during their relationship – the Hollywood star vehemently claims.
The pair met around 2011 on the set of The Rum Diary, a film adaptation of a novel by Depp’s friend Hunter S Thompson, before moving in together around 2012.
Here’s a timeline of the key events of their relationship and the bitter legal battle that followed.
Battle: Johnny Depp and Amber Heard (both pictured at court in London) went to war in a very nasty court case
2013
March 8: Depp allegedly tries to set fire to a painting by Heard’s ex-partner Tasya van Ree before he allegedly assaulted her for the first time, which the actor denies.
2015
– February 3: The couple wed in a private ceremony at their home in Los Angeles.
– March 3-5: The most significant incident in The Sun’s defence, the three-day trip to Australia, has been described by Heard as a “three-day hostage situation” in which Depp was allegedly physically and verbally assaulted while drinking heavily and taking drugs.
Depp denies the allegations and says Heard lost her temper after talking about a prenuptial agreement.
– April 21: The couple arrives in Australia with their pet Yorkshire Terriers Boo and Pistol, which they failed to declare at customs in Queensland. Heard was later charged with illegally bringing the dogs into the country – the charges were later dropped and the pair later recorded a bizarre video apologizing for bringing their dogs into Australia.
2016
– Around May 22: The couple broke up, Heard claims after an incident at their LA penthouse in which Depp reportedly got very angry and destroyed property with a bottle of champagne.
– May 23: Heard petitions for dissolution of their marriage.
– May 27: Heard applies for a temporary restraining order, preventing Depp from contacting her.
– August 16: The estranged couple reach an agreement on the dissolution of their marriage. Heard later donates her $7 million (£5.5 million) settlement to charity.
2017
– January 13: The couple is formally divorced.
2018
– April 27: The column by then-editor-in-chief of The Sun, Dan Wootton, is published online around 10 p.m. Under the headline ‘Gone Potty – How can JK Rowling be ‘genuinely happy’ to cast wife beater Johnny Depp in the new Fantastic Beasts movie?’, Mr Wootton asked if the Harry Potter author was ‘blindsided by a personal friendship’ with Depp.
The piece also cited two alleged victims of disgraced film producer Harvey Weinstein, who Depp said was included to “finish his career.”
– April 28: The next day, the online article is edited to remove the words “woman beater” from the headline, which was not included in the print edition.
– June 1: Depp files claim its libel against News Group newspapers. His written claim, filed a few weeks later, alleges that the article “seriously damaged (his) personal and professional reputation” and also caused him “considerable distress and embarrassment.”
December 18: The Washington Post publishes a Heard op-ed that does not name Depp, but says the actress “became a public figure representing domestic violence, and I felt the full force of our culture’s anger for women who speak out’.
2019
– Feb 27: Depp is resisting an attempt to have his English lawsuit dropped after The Sun filed for his claim to be ‘stayed out unless and until’ the star confirmed in writing that he would not sue Heard if she were to participate in an upcoming lawsuit.
– March 1: Depp files a libel suit against Heard in Virginia, blaming the Washington Post piece for getting Depp dropped from the Pirates Of The Caribbean franchise and claiming that Heard was the one who insulted him .
2020
– February 26: Johnny Depp attends the High Court in London for a preliminary hearing ahead of a trial that was due to start the following month. The star heard NGN’s attorney Adam Wolanski read texts sent by Depp, including one from November 2013 to actor Paul Bettany in which Depp wrote, “Let’s burn Amber.”
He also wrote: ‘Let’s drown her before we burn her!!! I’ll then fuck her burnt corpse to make sure she’s dead.’
– March 20: The trial, which was supposed to start on March 23, has been postponed due to the global coronavirus crisis. NGN’s lawyers had claimed that Depp wanted to delay the trial “because he’s a coward and because he knows he’s going to lose,” which was denied by Depp’s legal team.
– April 8: Mr. Justice Nicol orders that parts of Heard’s evidence, regarding allegations of sexual assault, be heard in private.
– May 13: The court allows Depp’s former partners Vanessa Paradis and Winona Ryder – both of whom say Depp was “never violent” towards them – to testify. Heard’s former personal assistant Kate James is also allowed to testify.
– June 25: NGN is asking the court to dismiss Depp’s claim just two weeks before trial due to the fact that the star failed to disclose text messages in which he apparently tried to buy drugs in Australia in 2015. he was trying to get “MDMA and other narcotics.”
– June 29: Mr. Justice Nicol rules that Depp violated a court order by not releasing documents from separate defamation proceedings against Heard in the US – including the text messages. But Depp’s lawyers argue it would be “completely disproportionate” to drop the actor’s libel claim.
– July 2: The Supreme Court rules that Depp’s claim can continue after his request for an ‘exemption from sanctions’ for violating a court order is granted.
– July 4: The first instance judge, Mr. Justice Nicol refuses a request from Depp’s lawyers to exclude Heard from court until she testifies.
– July 7: The three-week trial finally begins at the Royal Courts of Justice in London, with witnesses who will include Depp’s former partners Vanessa Paradis and Winona Ryder, as well as several of Heard’s friends who say they were present when Depp abused made.
– July 28: The trial period ends after 16 days.
– Nov 2: Depp loses his Supreme Court libel suit with Mr Justice Nicol to rule NGN had proven what the article said was “substantially true.”
– November 6: Depp announces he will be sold by Warner Bros. has been asked to resign from Fantastic Beasts 3 and that he has “respected that and agreed to that request.”
– November 25: Mr. Justice Nicol denies Depp’s request for permission to appeal his ruling to the Court of Appeals. The judge also orders the actor to make an initial payment of nearly £630,000 (approximately $850,000) to NGN for the publisher’s legal fees.
– December 7: lawyers for Depp appeal to the Court of Appeals, arguing that the Hollywood star “was not given a fair trial” and asking for the verdict to be “overturned” and a new trial ordered.
2021
– February 1: The Court of Appeals orders that Depp’s request for leave to appeal must be heard at a hearing in March.
– March 18 – Depp’s application for leave to appeal is heard by the Court of Appeals
– March 25 – The Court of Appeals denied permission to appeal the ruling, saying Depp’s attempt to overturn the decision had “no real chance of success.”
– July 1: Heard announces that she has become the mother of a baby girl who was born with a surrogate mother. The actress reveals that her daughter Oonagh Paige was born on April 8
2022
– Depp’s defamation suit against Heard over her Washington Post Op-Ed is scheduled to go to trial in April