Thursday 2 June 2022 10:46 PM Johnny Depp is cheered on by fans in Newcastle in first gig since $15M lawsuit ... trends now

Johnny Depp was cheered on by a crowd of hundreds as he returned to the stage after winning his $50 million lawsuit over ex-wife Amber Heard. 

The actor, 58, has been in England joining singer Jeff Beck on his tour and made an appearance during his friend's gig at Sage Gateshead in Newcastle on Thursday night. 

As he strode onto the stage he was greeted with rapturous applause from the crowd, while Jeff quipped: 'There’s someone here. You may not know who it is...'

He went on to reference the actor's court victory the day before as he shouted: 'What a result. What a result!'

While Johnny did not reference the court case himself, he beamed as he made his way onto the stage before playing guitar and singing a selection of rock ballads.

Johnny sued Amber, 36, for $50million over a 2018 piece she had written that alleged she was a victim of domestic abuse.

Amber countersued him for $100million, claiming that Johnny's lawyer Adam Waldman made defamatory statements by calling her claims a 'hoax'.

As the high-profile case came to a close on Wednesday, Johnny won the trial and was awarded more than $10million, vindicating his stance that Amber fabricated claims that she was abused by the star before and during their brief marriage.

He chose not to hear the verdict in person, which was announced at the Fairfax County Circuit Courthouse in Fairfax, Virginia on Wednesday. 

Instead he went out for drinks with Jeff and fellow musician Sam Fender at The Bridge Tavern pub in Newcastle, before returning to the stage to support Jeff on tour the following day. 

During his time in England, the actor also recently made a surprise appearance at an animal rescue in Kent.

Johnny was pictured cradling an orphaned badger named Freddie as he stopped by Folly Wildlife Rescue where he toured the care and vet units.

Jeff is as a patron of the rescue, so the guitarist and his wife Sandra brought Johnny to the rescue to see the work it does with wildlife.

Folly Wildlife Rescue shared a photo of the Hollywood star to their Facebook account and wrote: 'What an incredible afternoon it was for our staff and volunteers, as he toured the hospital's care and vet units. 

'Johnny was incredibly complimentary and in his own words 'blown away' by what he saw.

'To top the visit off, we even allowed him the rare privilege of briefly holding Freddie (as in Mercury!) one of the many orphaned badger cubs we're currently hand rearing - and I think it's fair to say he was bowled over by the whole experience!'   

Following his court victory on Wednesday, Johnny released a statement that read: 'Six years ago, my life, the life of my children, the lives of those closest to me, and also, the lives of the people who for many, many years have supported and believed in me were forever changed.

'And six years later, the jury gave me my life back. I am truly humbled.'

Meanwhile, Amber, who was married to Johnny from 2015 until 2017, admitted she was 'heartbroken' as she spoke after the verdict.