Johnny Depp was cast into the “rogues’ gallery of abusers” highlighted by the #MeToo and Time’s Up movements after the publication of an article which labelled him a “wife beater”, his lawyers have said.

He was “cited in the same breath as disgraced film mogul Harvey Weinstein”, who had by then “become notorious” for carrying out “heinous assaults on women”, the Pirates Of The Caribbean star’s legal team argued.

The Hollywood actor is suing News Group Newspapers and its executive editor Dan Wootton over the publication of an article on April 27 2018 with the headline: “Gone Potty: How can JK Rowling be ‘genuinely happy’ casting wife beater Johnny Depp in the new Fantastic Beasts film?”