Johnny Depp was handed a legal win on Tuesday when a Virginia judge refused to dismiss his $50 million defamation lawsuit against ex-wife Amber Heard. Depp had sued Heard for defamation over a Washington Post op-ed she wrote detailing abuse allegations. Heard sought to dismiss it on the grounds that a similar libel lawsuit Depp filed against the U.K. paper The Sun had been tossed in that country. Judge Penney Azcarate, however, remained unconvinced. “Defendant argues she was in privity with The Sun because they both had the same interest in the case,” Azcarate wrote. “The Sun’s interests were based on whether the statements the newspaper published were false. Defendant’s interests relate to whether the statements she published were false.” Ben Chew, Depp’s lawyer, told Deadline his client was “most gratified by the Court’s decision.”
