Unfortunately for Johnny Depp, Judge Andrew Nicol has ruled against the actor's attempt to appeal his failed libel case against The Sun newspaper. The former Fantastic Beasts star went to court to battle their claim that he's a "wife-beater" following a series of allegations made by ex-wife Amber Heard.
The original 2018 article was headlined "Gone Potty: How Can J.K. Rowling Be 'Genuinely Happy' Casting Wife-Beater Johnny Depp in the New Fantastic Beasts Film?" In the U.K., it was up to The Sun to prove that what they wrote was true, and given the evidence put forward against the actor, the decision made was that there was no way of proving Depp isn't a "wife-beater."
The odds were always stacked against Depp, especially as he conceded that he often lost control due to alcohol and drugs during his marriage to Heard.
The reason Nicol denied Depp's appeal is because he determined that the actor didn't have a "reasonable prospect of success." Now, Depp must pay £628,000 (around $840,000) in legal costs to The Sun, and while he can bring his grievances to the Court of Appeals, it seems unlikely he'll succeed.
Needless to say, this is another blow for Depp after he was recently given no other choice than to step down from the role of Gellert Grindelwald in Warner Bros.'s Fantastic Beasts franchise.
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