Pirates of the Caribbean actor Johnny Depp lost his libel lawsuit against UK newspaper The Sun on Monday, for branding him as a ‘wife-beater’, reported AFP.

Amber Heard, who divorced Johnny Depp in 2017, accused him of verbal and physical abuse, including screaming, swearing, issuing threats, punching, slapping, kicking, head-butting and choking her, as well as “extremely controlling and intimidating behaviour”, according to BBC.

Depp, 57, had sued the Sun’s publisher- News Group Newspapers (NGN) and the author of the article over claims he was violent to ex-wife Amber Heard during their volatile two-year marriage.

However, the high court judge Andrew Nicol dismissed Depp’s claims saying that the newspaper group’s article had been proven to be “substantially true”, adding “the claimant has not succeeded in his action for libel”.

Three weeks of rancorous testimony at the case dubbed “the biggest English libel trial of the 21st century” included claims of drug abuse and domestic violence.

“Although he has proved the necessary elements of his cause of action in libel, the defendants (News Group Newspapers Ltd) have shown that what they published in the meaning which I have held the words to bear was substantially true,” he added.

The Sun welcomed the ruling, saying it had “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,” the judge said.

“I have found that the great majority of alleged assaults of Heard by Depp have been proved to the civil standard,” said judge Nicol, meaning he deemed the claims more likely than not to be true on the balance of probability.

“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,” he added.

The Sun in response thanked the judge for his “careful consideration” and Amber Heard “for her courage in giving evidence to the court.”

This case starting from Amber Heard’s accusations to Johnny Depp suing the Sun has revealed the actor’s chaotic lifestyle.