Johnny Depp loses case against Sun over claims of beating ex-wife

"Pirates of the Caribbean" star Johnny Depp has officially lost the case against the Sun in the London court.

Johnny Depp's fight with the newspaper started when the tabloid described the actor as a "wife beater," reported by The Guardian.

The London court has refused to pay the star compensation for damage to his reputation at the end of one of the most widely followed libel trials of the century.

In his ruling, 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."

The long-awaited decision was published online at 10am on Monday more than three months after the high court hearing finished in late July.

Johnny Depp lawyers says UK court ruling 'flawed' and 'perverse'

A London High Court judge's decision on Monday to reject Johnny Depp's libel claim over an article which called him a "wife beater" is perverse and flawed, and it would be ridiculous if he did not appeal, the actor's lawyers said, reports Reuters. 

"This decision is as perverse as it is bewildering," Depp's British law firm Schillings said in statement on Monday.

"The judgment is so flawed that it would be ridiculous for Mr Depp not to appeal this decision," the statement said.

"In the meantime, we hope that in contrast to this case, the ongoing libel proceedings in America are equitable, with both parties providing full disclosure rather than one side strategically cherry picking what evidence can and cannot be relied upon."