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Johnny Depp’s lawsuit was to prove he is not an abuser like Harvey Weinstein: lawyers
Johnny Depp launched his explosive libel trial over “wife beater” allegations to prove he was not part of the “rogues’ gallery of abusers” like Harvey Weinstein, his lawyers said Tuesday. The 57-year-old “Pirates Of The Caribbean” star is suing The Sun newspaper over a 2018 headline that branded him a “wife beater,” allegations he vehemently …
Johnny Depp launched his explosive libel trial over “wife beater” allegations to prove he was not part of the “rogues’ gallery of abusers” like Harvey Weinstein, his lawyers said Tuesday.
The 57-year-old “Pirates Of The Caribbean” star is suing The Sun newspaper over a 2018 headline that branded him a “wife beater,” allegations he vehemently denies.
The story also lumped him “into the same category of Harvey Weinstein and invoke #MeToo and Time’s Up movements,” his legal team said in a written document submitted on the final day of his UK case.
“The Claimant is included in the rogues’ gallery of abusers that the #MeToo and Time’s Up movements are campaigning against, cited in the same breath as Harvey Weinstein who had become notorious by then for having committed numerous heinous assaults on women,” the court document states of the UK paper’s story.
Movie mogul Weinstein was in March sentenced to 23 years in prison for rape and sexual assault and still faces further charges.
The Sun made the link to Weinstein to ensure “no reader is in any doubt as to the seriousness” of the allegations it was making against Depp — and to send the message that “society should condemn” him, the filing stated.
One of Weinstein’s accusers, actress Katherine Kendall, told London’s High Court earlier in the trial that she felt “misquoted and misused” in the article to make it look like the #MeToo movement condemned Depp.
Depp’s lawyer, David Sherborne, also previously complained in the trial that the paper made “deliberate and highly topical references to the #MeToo and Time’s Up movements” as well as to Weinstein.
“That is why he has come here – to clear his reputation,” he said, insisting the case is not about money but “vindication.”
The filing was submitted on what is expected to be the final day of the three-week trial, with Sherborne making his summation. The judge, Mr. Justice Nicol, will then take time to reach his decision to be released later.
With Post wires
