Johnny Depp denied appeal in ‘wife beater’ libel case

Johnny Depp has been denied an initial appeal over a UK court's verdict that he assaulted his ex-wife Amber Heard.

The libel case ended on 2 November with the judge ordering the actor to pay an initial payment to the Sun's publishers, New Group Newspapers (NGN), of almost £630,000 in legal fees, reports BBC.

The judge who dismissed Depp's claim this month said an appeal did not have a "reasonable prospect of success."

But he gave him until 7 December to apply directly to the Court of Appeal.

Depp denied the claims and his lawyer called the judge's ruling "perverse" and announced the actor intended to appeal.

The judge rejected a "recurring theme" in Depp's evidence "that Heard had constructed a hoax and that she had done this as an 'insurance policy'," and that she was a "gold-digger".

After losing the case, Depp said he had left the franchise, adding he had been "asked to resign" from his role as Gellert Grindelwald and had "respected that and agreed to that request".