Actor Johnny Depp has had a long and successful career in film, but over the past few years he's been making headlines for more personal issues. His ongoing legal battle with ex-wife Amber Heard continues on, with the actor recently facing a major setback by losing his libel suit against The Sun. This ruling in the publication's favor resulted in Depp being fired from his role as Grindelwald in the Fantastic Beasts franchise, but now it look like he's still intent on fighting.
The libel case against The Sun came from Johnny Depp after the publication posted a story referring to the actor as a "wife beater." This was in direct response to the allegations of abuse Amber Heard made against her ex-husband, with the two squaring off in the court and both throwing more allegations at each other. Depp took a major loss when U.K. courts ruled against him, and now it looks like he's appealing that verdict in his latest attempt to clear his name.
This news comes to us from Deadline, and is just the latest legal shakeup to come from Johnny Depp and his team. This update indicates that the 57 year-old actor is heading to the UK Court Of Appeal in a bid to overturn the High Court decision that dropped just one month ago. So while it looked like The Sun (and by proxy Amber Heard) had won the day, we'll have to see if Depp's appeal goes through across the pond.
Johnny Depp's previous loss in court was a major bump in his ongoing legal battles with Amber Heard, and has both professional and personal consequences. The Judge who ruled over the libel case reportedly shared his belief that Depp did in fact assault his ex-wife. And shortly after the verdict came in Warner Bros. asked the actor to step down as Grindelwald in the Fantastic Beasts movies.
With the actor's schedule freed up from his departure (and payday) from Fantastic Beasts 3, it makes a great deal of sense that Johnny Depp would continue to appeal in the U.K. Courts. But his legal concerns are two-fold, as he's also suing Amber Heard back in the states for defamation. The verdict in the libel case agains The Sun will no doubt factor into the proceedings in court, so the stakes are high.
Amber Heard and Johnny Depp may have been separated for years, but their battle in court will continue for the foreseeable future. The pair have been making headlines throughout this process, in part due to the wild allegations they've both made against each other. And with the litigation now clearly affecting their work as actors, there's even more to fight for. We'll just have to wait and see how it all shakes down in the court of law.
