Sam Fender spends evening in Newcastle pub with Johnny Depp before actor wins Amber Heard defamation trial
Musician shared selfie with Depp and musician Jeff Beck, calling them ‘some serious heroes’
Your support helps us to tell the story
This election is still a dead heat, according to most polls. In a fight with such wafer-thin margins, we need reporters on the ground talking to the people Trump and Harris are courting. Your support allows us to keep sending journalists to the story.
The Independent is trusted by 27 million Americans from across the entire political spectrum every month. Unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock you out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. But quality journalism must still be paid for.
Help us keep bring these critical stories to light. Your support makes all the difference.
Sam Fender has spent the evening at the pub with Johnny Depp as the actor won his defamation trial against Amber Heard.
Depp had sued Heard for $50m (£40m) for allegedly implying he abused her in a 2018 Washington Post op-ed. She pursued a $100m (£80m) counterclaim.
While the jury deliberated this week, Depp travelled to the UK. A verdict was reached on Wednesday (1 June), with posts beginning to emerge on social media claiming that the actor had been seen in a pub with singer Fender on Newcastle’s Quayside that same evening.
The jury then shared their verdict, finding that Heard had defamed Depp on all three counts.
She was demanded to award him $10m (£8m) in compensatory damages and $5m (£4m) in punitive damages. Heard was found to have a partial win in her case and was awarded $2m (£1.6m) in compensatory damages, but no punitive damages.
Minutes after the verdict came in, Fender shared a picture to his Instagram stories as he sat in a beer garden with Depp and musician Jeff Beck, with whom Depp performed on stage in the UK this week. Fender appears to have since deleted the post.
“Some serious heroes,” the North Shields native captioned the post.
The Independent has contacted Fender’s representatives for comment.
Following the jury’s verdict, Heard released a statement saying: “The disappointment I feel today is beyond words. I’m heartbroken that the mountain of evidence still was not enough to stand up to the disproportionate power, influence, and sway of my ex-husband.
“I’m even more disappointed with what this verdict means for other women. It is a setback… I’m sad I lost this case. But I am sadder still that I seem to have lost a right I thought I had as an American – to speak freely and openly.”
You can follow for more updates on The Independent’s live blog here.