[imagesource: Matt Dunham / AP]

Graphic descriptions of Johnny Depp passed out in his own bodily fluids, his creative uses for meat, drug addiction, domestic abuse, tales of Amber Heard’s alleged infidelity with half of Hollywood, and damaged property were just some of the topics covered in Depp’s libel case against the tabloid, The Sun.

I can’t remember a time when the world wasn’t watching on in morbid fascination as Heard and Depp revealed the intimate details of their dysfunctional marriage in court.

If you’re keen for a recap, take in Depp’s closing arguments and the closing arguments from the other side. Just make sure you have some cute kitten videos lined up before you do because you’ll need something to scrub your brain clean afterwards.

Anyway, it’s all over now, and the court has issued a ruling.

Per CNN, Judge Andrew Nicol, who deserves a medal for sitting through all of this, issued his ruling in a 129-page judgment on Monday, finding in favour of The Sun.

“I have reached these conclusions having examined in detail the 14 incidents on which the defendants rely, as well as the over-arching considerations which the claimant submitted I should take into account,” the judge said.

Judge Nicol found that 12 of the 14 alleged incidents of violence used to support The Sun’s contested article did take place.

He cited as evidence of Depp’s feelings towards Heard a 2016 text, in which Depp wrote of his then-wife: “She’s begging for total global humiliation. She’s gonna get it … I have no mercy, no fear and not an ounce of emotion or what I once thought was love for this gold digging, low level, dime a dozen, mushy, pointless dangling overused flappy fish market.”

Depp appears to have brought ‘global humiliation’ upon himself so that clearly didn’t go to plan.

More from the judgement:

“A recurring theme in Mr Depp’s evidence was that Ms Heard had constructed a hoax and that she had done this as an ‘insurance policy’ – presumably in the event that the marriage broke down,” the judge noted in his verdict, before noting that her donation of her $7 million divorce settlement to charity “is hardly the act one would expect of a gold-digger.”

During the trial, Depp said that the final straw in their relationship and the factor that prompted him to seek divorce was the time that Heard and a friend supposedly defecated on his bed.

The judge said that this seemed “unlikely”.

“As long as he was away, it was Ms Heard who was likely to suffer from the faeces on the bed, not him,” the judge wrote. “It was, therefore, a singularly ineffective means for Ms Heard or one of her friends to ‘get back’ at Mr Depp.”

In a statement, Depp’s lawyers said that they would be appealing the decision, because “the judgment is so flawed that it would be ridiculous for Mr Depp not to appeal this decision”.

The Sun, which is owned by media mogul Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp., said in a statement following the verdict: “The Sun has stood up and campaigned for the victims of domestic abuse for over 20 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”.

Heard’s lawyer was also pleased with the outcome:

“For those of us present for the London High Court trial, this decision and judgment are not a surprise.”

Why Depp decided to air all of this in a public and widely covered trial remains a mystery.

His career isn’t looking too good right now.

He might want to save the money he had lined up for an appeal and move on.

[source:cnn]