Johnny Depp spotted holding badger cub at Kent wildlife sanctuary

Fresh from US defamation case win against Amber Heard, actor has been playing UK gigs with Jeff Beck.

In the latest stop of his UK tour, only days after winning a multimillion-dollar defamation trial against Amber Heard, Johnny Depp was spotted holding a cub badger in Kent.

“Guess who’s been to see us,” Folly Wildlife Rescue Trust wrote in a Facebook post on Thursday, which received thousands of likes. “That’s the real Johnny Depp!”

The actor visited in a break from touring with the musician Jeff Beck, a patron of the charity. Depp accompanied Beck’s wife, Sandra, the charity wrote, as they toured the hospital and he held an orphaned badger cub, Freddie – “as in Mercury”, it added.

The US defamation trial ended in Depp’s favour on Wednesday, with the court finding that a Washington Post editorial that Heard wrote had defamed her former husband.

Three of Depp’s claims were supported, to one of three claims by Heard. The parties were awarded $10.35m and $2m respectively, in what has led to an outcry from experts in the field of sexual and domestic violence, who variously called the verdict a “toxic catastrophe” and a “setback for all women”. Heard plans to appeal.

In a statement after the verdict, Depp said “the jury gave me my life back”, six years after he was accused of domestic abuse. “I am truly humbled,” he said.

On the charity’s Facebook post, one user wrote: “Be nice if he donated his settlement to you, he doesn’t need the money!” Another said: “How fantastic! What a lovely way for him to wind down after a horrendous time!”

The libel case outcome differed from one in the UK less than two years ago. In 2020, Depp lost a case against the Sun after Heard gave evidence to support claims in the newspaper that he was a “wife beater”. The judge found that 12 of 14 alleged incidents of domestic violence against Heard had occurred.

On Tuesday night, before the US verdict, Depp appeared on stage alongside the 77-year-old Beck at the Royal Albert Hall for a second night in a row, and was greeted with a standing ovation. Before that he had made a surprise appearance at the musician’s Sheffield show.

His presence in the UK surprised many as he awaited the verdict of what turned into one of Hollywood’s most toxic and highly televised legal battles. After the US verdict, Heard’s lead attorney said the seven-member jury had been influenced by “lopsided” social media posts and that the presence of cameras had transformed the courtroom into a “zoo”.

Folly Wildlife Rescue works to rescue and rehabilitate injured, orphaned and distressed wild animals throughout west Kent and the surrounding area.

Beck’s UK tour continues at the Glasgow Royal Concert Hall on Friday, before continuing to Manchester, Birmingham and elsewhere.

~ Via The Guardian