Johnny Depp’s fall from Hollywood titan to ‘wife-beater’ as he loses libel case

Johnny Depp shot to fame as a handsome teen actor in the 1980s before going on to become a Hollywood pin-up and one of the movie industry’s most in-demand stars.

After years as a Hollywood high-flier, commanding fees of up to $75million a picture, the actor suffered a blow in 2016 when his ex-wife Amber Heard accused him of abusing her during their relationship.

The allegations – which Depp strenuously denied – became headline news and the actor hit a low point this month as candid details about his personal life were revealed in court during his high profile libel battle against News Group Newspapers over the summer.

Depp, 57, sued NGN for libel over a story published in The Sun in 2018 which branded him a “wife beater” – which he denies.

But in November 2020, Depp lost his libel battle as the High Court judge said The Sun had a “complete defence” in the case after examining the 14 incidents of the alleged abuse Depp inflicted on Heard.

During his time in court, the actor insisted he’d never been violent towards his ex-wife Heard, who he divorced in 2017.

However, the libel trial laid bare shocking claims of drug binges, meltdowns and grim text exchanges in which the actor joked about “f*****g Amber Heard’s burnt corpse.”

While Heard branded him a “needy man child” who couldn’t look after himself in a bombshell email read out in court.

Depp made his film debut in 1984 horror movie A Nightmare on Elm Street, and although his character was killed off rather quickly, his performance in the movie made him a star.

A year later he married actress Sherilyn Fenn, who shot to fame herself in 1990 with a role in Twin Peaks.

He went on to land several small movie roles, including a supporting part in Oliver Stone’s Platoon, before landing a coveted job on TV cop drama 21 Jump Street – which cemented his status as a teen idol.

He spent three years on the series, during which time his marriage to Fenn collapsed, before bowing out in 1990, the same year he starred in John Waters’ teen rom-com Cry-Baby.

Later in 1990, Depp went from teen heart-throb to bonafide movie star as he landed the starring role in Tim Burton’s offbeat drama Edward Scissorhands.

As well as garnering critical acclaim and a new status as a Hollywood leading man, he also gained a girlfriend in co-star Winona Ryder and a long-running partnership with director Burton.

Depp’s career started going from strength-to-strength, starring in 1993 critically acclaimed drama What’s Eating Gilbert Grape and narrowly missing out on an Oscar nomination for the role.

A year later, he reunited with Burton for Ed Wood and went on to tackle roles in films such as Donnie Brasco with Al Pacino, and Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, based on the book by Depp’s idol Hunter S. Thompson.

The actor admitted he was driven to choose roles he found “interesting” rather than looking for commercial success and became known for playing “iconic loners”.

During the 1990s, his relationship with Ryder ended and he went on to romance supermodel Kate Moss.

They were together for three years and became one of the most photographed couples in the world until their split in 1998.

Later that year, he met French pop star-turned-actress Vanessa Paradis while filming The Ninth Gate and the pair struck up a relationship.

They went on to have two children together, Jack and Lily-Rose, and create a home for themselves in France while they also enjoyed family holidays on Depp’s private island in the Bahamas.

Depp went on to tackle projects such as Sleepy Hollow, Chocolat and 2001 drug drama Blow, based on the life of cocaine king pin George Jung.

By now Depp was an in-demand actor and was unable to resist the temptation of Disney dollars when he was offered the lead role of Captain Jack Sparrow in the big budget Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl in 2003.

The swashbuckling adventure was a huge hit, catapulting Depp to a new level of fame and introducing him to a much younger audience.

Depp went on to star in a series of sequels, as well as dabbling in projects such as Finding Neverland and The Libertine, and juggling bigger budget roles with Burton such as Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Alice in Wonderland and Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street.

By 2012, he’d become the highest-paid actor in the world bringing in around $75 million for every film.

However, it also appeared to be a turning point for the movie star as his previously glowing reviews started to falter and his relationship with Paradis crumbled.

The pair split in 2012 after 14 years together, leaving Depp single again and without the happy home life he’d come to call his “real foundation”.

Depp went on to date Amber Heard, the actress he’d worked with on 2011 movie The Rum Diary.

However, Depp’s previous critical acclaim seemed to elude him as he suffered a string of box office disappointments including The Lone Ranger, Mortdecai and Dark Shadows.

Despite the box office glitz wearing thin, Depp seemed happy in his personal life as he appeared on red carpets with his girlfriend, who was more than 20 years his junior.

They tied the knot in the Bahamas in February 2015 and all seemed well until the following year when the marriage ended in a blaze of publicity.

On May 23, 2016, Heard filed for divorce after 15 months of marriage citing “irreconcilable differences” and seeking spousal support.

Later that week she applied for a temporary restraining order against the actor, which was granted, and she was photographed outside court with what appeared to be a large red mark on her face.

A picture of Heard with what appeared to be red marks on her face was later published on TMZ.com.

The divorce was settled less than three months later, with Depp handing Heard a $7million pay out, which she declared she was giving to charity.

At the time, they released a joint statement which read: “Our relationship was intensely passionate and at times volatile, but always bound by love. Neither party has made false accusations for financial gain.”

“There was never any intent of physical or emotional harm.”

Just months later, Heard wrote an opinion piece about domestic violence for the Washington Post, which is now the subject of a defamation lawsuit brought against her by Depp – who was not mentioned by name in the article – in the US in 2019.

He later filed suit against News Group Newspapers over an article in The Sun in 2018 which branded him a “wife beater”.

Depp spent three days in the witness box during the trial and denied he’d ever been violent to Heard, accusing her of being abusive throughout their relationship.

The case went on for 16 days during which the torrid details of the former couple’s marriage was exposed.

The actor’s painful battle with drug addiction was raked over and he was accused of going on benders that lasted several days.

Depp denied ever being hooked on cocaine, but admitted he’d struggled with prescription drugs and took substances including MDMA and magic mushrooms.

He admitted lying on the floor and crying like a child as he went through a detox process on his private island in a bid to beat his addictions.

During the trial, an email from Heard, which she wrote in 2013 but never sent, was read out in court in which she called him a “needy man-child” who needed paid staff to pick him up “from his own p**s and vomit”.

A picture of the Hollywood star slumped on a sofa unconscious covered in melted ice cream was shown to the court, seemingly summing up how different Depp’s existence was behind-the-scenes away from the movies.

Even Depp’s finances came under scrutiny as the multi-millionaire movie star told the court he’d lost the $650million fortune he’d made from the Pirates movies and ended up $100million in debt.

On November 2, Depp lost his libel case against The Sun.

In his ruling, the judge, Mr Justice Nicol, said: “The claimant [Depp] has not succeeded in his action for libel…

“The defendants [The Sun and News Group Newspapers] have shown that what they published in the meaning which I have held the words to bear was substantially true.

“I have reached these conclusions having examined in detail the 14 incidents on which the defendants rely as well as the overarching considerations which the claimant submitted I should take into account. In those circumstances, parliament has said that a defendant has a complete defence.”

A spokesperson for The Sun said: “The Sun has stood up and campaigned for the victims of domestic abuse for over twenty years.

“Domestic abuse victims must never be silenced and we thank the Judge for his careful consideration and thank Amber Heard for her courage in giving evidence to the court.”

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