Johnny Depp in UK court for hearing on tabloid libel lawsuit

FILE - In this Friday, Feb. 21, 2020 file photo, actor Johnny Depp arrives for the screening of the film Minamata during the 70th International Film Festival Berlin, Berlinale in Berlin, Germany. A lawyer for Johnny Depp told a British judge on Wednesday Feb. 26, 2020, that the star's ex-wife Amber Heard lied when she accused him of domestic abuse. (AP Photo/Markus Schreiber, File)

FILE - In this Friday, Feb. 21, 2020 file photo, actor Johnny Depp arrives for the screening of the film Minamata during the 70th International Film Festival Berlin, Berlinale in Berlin, Germany. A lawyer for Johnny Depp told a British judge on Wednesday Feb. 26, 2020, that the star's ex-wife Amber Heard lied when she accused him of domestic abuse. (AP Photo/Markus Schreiber, File)

LONDON (AP) — A lawyer for Johnny Depp told a British judge on Wednesday that the star’s ex-wife Amber Heard lied when she accused him of domestic abuse.

Depp denies the abuse allegations, and attended the High Court in London for a preliminary hearing in his libel suit against British tabloid newspaper The Sun.

The Hollywood star is suing The Sun’s parent company, News Group Newspapers, and the newspaper’s executive editor, Dan Wootton, over a 2018 article alleging he had been abusive to Heard.

The “Pirates of the Caribbean” star sat behind his legal team in court as his lawyer David Sherborne said the case would feature “diametrically opposed” versions of events from Depp and Heard.

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“One person, one side, is lying, and one is not,” he said. “Obviously, we say that it is Ms. Heard (who is lying), Mr. Depp is 100% clear about that.”

The lawyer said that Heard was not a victim but the “aggressor” in the couple’s relationship. Depp and Heard divorced in 2017.

The full hearing is due to start on March 23.

Depp is also suing Heard for libel in the United States.