John Bowie – The Johnny Depp libel trial win for The Sun newspaper was a high stakes gamble by the Murdoch-owned newspaper, but it was also a major test for its primary gossip columnist and executive editor, Lower Hutt-born Dan Wootton who wrote the allegedly defamatory story.
The story exposed Depp as a wife beater and lead to a so-called ‘libel trial of the century’ (well, UK ragtop papers are given to hyperbole, after all and we’re only part-way through this century).
Wootton went to Naenae College and Victoria University before setting off on his OE to the UK where he has carved out an impressive career as a populist journalist and television personality, opining on a wide range of ‘celebrity issues’.
For the full story on the multi-million dollar libel case click here.
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