US actor Johnny Depp trial approaches final stages

'Pirates of The Caribbean' actor's libel trial is set to conclude soon as the court hears evidence from Johnny Depp and his wife. 

According to a Monday media report, the three-week trial is entering its closing stages as the evidence from Depp and Amber Heard, as well as other witnesses were heard by the Royal Courts of Justice in London.

Lawyers for British tabloid The Sun were quoted by the media as saying that there is a “wealth of evidence” to substantiate allegations of domestic violence brought by Heard against Depp.

The actor, 57, sued the tabloid's publisher for a 2018 article which called him a “wife beater” with one of the lawyers saying at the Monday hearing that Depp’s “drug and alcohol-fueled lifestyle provides a backdrop to the events in question.”

Sasha Wass said, “Firstly, it demonstrates that the claimant was subject to irrational mood swings and abnormal behavioral patterns, which would not have been present when Mr. Depp was clean and sober," adding, "We submit… that the testimony of a complainant of domestic violence is sufficient to prove the case, provided that the complainant – Ms. Heard in this case – gives credible and reliable evidence."

This comes as the actor had described himself as “a southern gentleman who had respect for women,” but according to the lawyer, texts showed this was “entirely untrue."

Amber Heard, 34, claims Mr. Depp used violence against her while her ex-husband denies all allegations, saying the claims were "a choreographed hoax."

It is the penultimate day of Depp's libel trial as Justice Nicol is yet to deliver a decision on this case.

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