Johnny Depp is looking towards a brighter future after a difficult year filled with a whole lot of litigation.
On Sunday, the actor shared to his Instagram account a black-and-white photo of himself with The Pogues frontman Shane MacGowan on the set of the film Crock of Gold, writing in the caption, “This year has been so hard for so many. Here’s to a better time ahead. Happy Holidays, everyone! My love and respect to you all. Eternally, JD.” Although the message is most likely in regards to the current global pandemic and the unprecedented hardships it’s imposed on everyone, the sentiment could also be applied to Depp himself who, over the last few months, has lost his very high-profile libel case against The Sun and was also asked to resign from his starring role as Grindelwald in the Fantastic Beasts franchise. Although, he did still receive his full $16 million salary.
In November, a London court ruled against the actor in a lawsuit over a 2018 headline in the British tabloid that labeled him “wife-beater.” The judge presiding over the case, Andrew Nicol, wrote, “I accept that Mr. Depp put [ex-wife Amber Heard] in fear of her life. The claimant has not succeeded in his action for libel,” deeming the headline to be “substantially true.” Depp has denied all instances of abuse and earlier this month turned to the U.K. Court of Appeal to overturn the decision. He’s also turned his attention to his other ongoing lawsuit, a $50 million defamation case against Heard in Virginia. In that case, Depp will reportedly be obligated to produce “all responsive communications” with his former romantic partners, which, The Hollywood Reporter notes, include A-list costars like Angelina Jolie, Keira Knightley, and Marion Cotillard. The case is expected to go to trial in early 2021.
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