KEY POINTS

  • Fans tweeted supportive messages for Johnny Depp via the hashtag "#JusticeForJohnnyDepp"
  • The actor lost his libel case against The Sun over an article that called him a "wife beater"
  • Depp's lawyer said he intends to appeal the decision

After Johnny Depp lost his libel case against The Sun, numerous social media users have sided with the actor, sharing messages of support via the hashtags "#JohnnyDeppIsInnocent" and "#JusticeForJohnnyDepp" on Twitter.

On Monday, a judge ruled that the U.K. tabloid was justified in calling Depp a "wife beater" in a 2018 article describing his former relationship with ex-wife Amber Heard. However, the verdict didn't sit well with his fans, who took to Twitter to air their disappointment.

"Good luck #JohnnyDepp Whatever happens, we're with you because we know you're INNOCENT. We believe in you and we love you.#johnnydeppisinnocent #JohnnyDeppDeservesJustice," one tweeted.

"In the future, however, we’ll look back to this day, not as the day Johnny Depp lost his case but as the day the High Court lost its credibility. #JohnnyDeppIsInnocent #JusticeForJohhnyDepp," another fan wrote.

"Give him our love and support. But I know, it doesn't help much, when one feels lost. We will always have his back. We are with him until the end. Every single step. #JohnnyDeppIsInnocent and we will f----ng move on!" a third Twitter user wrote.

Others, meanwhile, expressed support for Heard, who is also being sued for defamation by Depp in a U.S. court after she published an op-ed in The Washington Post alleging that she was a survivor of sexual and physical violence.

"I, for one, am happy for Amber Heard, after all she's been through...including being on the receiving end of the public's vitriolic hatred, inflamed by Depp and his team's obvious smear campaign against her," one Twitter user wrote.

Judge Andrew Nicol, who presided over Depp's case against The Sun, reached the verdict after deciding that 12 of the 14 alleged incidents of domestic violence reported by Heard occurred, The Guardian reported.

"Although he has proved the necessary elements of his cause of action in libel, the defendants have shown that what they published in the meaning which I have held the words to bear was substantially true," the judge was quoted by The Sun as saying.

"I have reached these conclusions having examined in detail the 14 incidents on which the defendants rely, as well as the over-arching considerations which the claimant submitted I should take into account," he continued.

Meanwhile, Jenny Afia of Schillings, the law firm that represented Depp, found the decision "as perverse as it is bewildering." The attorney said it was troubling that the judge relied on Heard's testimony and disregarded the counter-evidence from police officers, medical practitioners and other unchallenged witnesses.

"All of this was overlooked. The judgment is so flawed that it would be ridiculous for Mr Depp not to appeal this decision," she said, The Guardian reported.

The lawyer confirmed that Depp intends to appeal the decision.

US star Johnny Depp had sued the Sun over claims he was violent to ex-wife Amber Heard during their volatile two-year marriage
US star Johnny Depp had sued the Sun over claims he was violent to ex-wife Amber Heard during their volatile two-year marriage AFP / Tolga AKMEN