Amber Heard posts poignant instagram photo as Johnny Depp loses "wife beater" lawsuit, again

Amber Heard has stated that she is pleased "but not surprised" by the court ruling against Depp in his libel appeal. Photo / Getty Images

Amber Heard has posted a meaningful image of herself wearing the same black dress, four years apart. The first photo in the two image slideshow is of Heard on the day she filed domestic allegations against Depp, to whom she was married at the time, in 2016. In the image a bruise is clearly visible on Heard's face.

The second photo in the post shows Heard wearing the same black dress, with a Covid-safe face covering, and was posted just days after Depp lost his appeal against a libel case he had lost to the Sun last year.

Heard captioned the photos with a strong, simple statement: "One dress, four years apart. Sometimes it's important to wear the same thing twice".

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A post shared by Amber Heard (@amberheard)

The lawsuit against the Sun, filed by Depp, accused the publication of libel for calling the actor a "wife beater" in an article.

Depp lost the British libel claim against the Sun last year, with a High Court judge finding the article to be "substantially true".

The 57-year-old Pirates of the Caribbean star swiftly appealed the decision against libel claim and then last week, on March 25, his appeal was denied, with the Lord Justices releasing the following summary of the ruling:

"Following a hearing last week, the Court of Appeal has refused permission to Johnny Depp to appeal against the dismissal of his claim for libel against News Group Newspapers and one of its journalists."

At the time the ruling was handed down, Heard posted the following statement to Instagram: "We are pleased — but by no means surprised — by the Court's denial of Mr. Depp's application for appeal. The evidence presented in the UK case was overwhelming and undeniable. To reiterate, the original verdict was that Mr. Depp committed domestic violence against Amber on no fewer than 12 occasions and she was left in fear of her life. The verdict and lengthy, well-reasoned Judgment, including the Confidential Judgment, have been affirmed. Mr. Depp's claim of new and important evidence was nothing more than a press strategy, and has been soundly rejected by the Court."

The ruling marks the end of Depp's legal recourse against The Sun in Britain but he is still fighting a defamation lawsuit against Heard in the US.

Johnny Depp was married to actress Amber Heard from 2015-2017, however Heard first filed abuse allegations against Depp in 2016. Photo / Getty Images

The US$50 million ($67m) defamation lawsuit against Heard has been delayed several times since it was initially filed, with the latest date scheduled on April 11, 2022. The trial is expected to last two weeks.

Depp was married to Heard from 2015-2017. He continues to deny the allegations and claims that Heard was the actual perpetrator of the abuse.