Just when you thought the drama between Johnny Depp and Amber Heard took a bit of a break,
Depp found himself making headlines yet again. Unfortunately, the headlines have not been
in his favor. After Depp lost the libel case against British tabloid The Sun, we thought
it would be interesting to have a look at the celebrities that have backed Depp during
his ongoing legal battle with ex-wife Amber Heard. Given Depp’s recent loss we wondered
if any of these celebrities might regret backing him and are now planning on bowing out. What
does this all mean for Johnny Depp’s future and could this be the infamous end to his
career? Before we dive a bit deeper make sure to subscribe to our channel to keep up with
the latest celebrity news.
Before we get started let's catch you up, just in case you’ve missed all of the drama
surrounding the two former lovebirds.
Johnny Depp and Amber Heard first met on the set of the film The Rum Diary in 2009 and
started dating in 2012. The couple were married in 2015 but Heard filed for both a divorce
and a restraining order a year later. Since then the exes have been locked in a contentious
legal battle, with Depp filing a $50 million defamation lawsuit against Heard. Heard made
allegations that Depp had physically and verbally abused her while under the influence of drugs
and alcohol. Depp however, denied all allegations saying that in reality, Heard had abused him.
Things turned in Johnny’s favor when an audio recording was leaked revealing Amber’s
abusive nature towards Johnny. This led to Johnny receiving backing from more and more
people as they hashtagged “Justice For Johnny”, but things turned for the worse when Johnny
decided to sue The Sun newspaper. On the 2nd of November 2020, Johnny Depp lost
his libel lawsuit against British newspaper The Sun for branding him a "wife-beater" with
reference to his relationship with Amber Heard. Unfortunately, the case did not go as Johnny
planned as it tragically laid bare his chaotic lifestyle, including his ongoing struggle
with drugs and alcohol. The verdict came as a shock to many, especially after the leaked
voice recording between Amber and Johnny. Legal experts considered Depp had no choice
but to sue The Sun, as, in the current era, accusations of domestic violence would do
more damage to his career than details of his substance abuse.
We wondered if the handful of celebrities who publicly backed Johnny, prior to the case,
are now regretting their decision after Johnny’s unfortunate loss. Either way, we thought it
would be interesting to have a look at which celebrities backed Johnny in the last couple
of years.
Johnny has had his fair share of intense long term relationships during his time in Hollywood.
So it came as no surprise when Vanessa Paradis and Winona Ryder, voiced their support for
their former partner. Vanessa Paradis, with whom Johnny shares two beautiful children,
was brave enough to defend her ex-partner even though at the time she received a lot
of hate for going against a fellow woman. Then there’s Winona Ryder, who famously
dated Johnny for four years. Despite their public and somewhat messy relationship, Winona
remains very fond of the 57-year-old.
However, it seemed both ex-partners were careful when giving their witness statements, which
is understandable given the MeToo movement that has risen the past few years. Both Paradis
and Ryder acknowledged that they don’t want to call anyone a liar and do not know what
happened between the couple behind closed doors. Nevertheless, both women made a point
to defend Johnny by saying that the picture Amber was painting of him was incredibly untrue
judging from THEIR frame of reference. They went on to say that regardless of what Amber
had said, it is nothing like the Johnny they know and love. The Johnny they know and love
would never be violent or abusive towards anyone.
Vanessa’s sister, Alysson Paradis, also sided with her sisters’ former partner.
She showed her support on Instagram by posting a photo of the two with the caption “You
are and always will be family to me”. Now we don’t know about you, but it’s not
every day you see your in-laws defend you much less your ex-in-laws. So, the fact that
she went out of her way to defend Depp is pretty huge.
And of course, there is no surprise that Depp’s daughter Lily was also one of the first to
defend her dad’s honor. She first posted a photo from an article, where the LAPD came
to Amber and Johnny’s house after a call of domestic violence from Amber. The call
was later dismissed as there was no evidence of any crime. She then posted, a since-deleted,
photo with her and her dad when she was just a baby, captioning it “My dad is the sweetest
most loving person I know, he's been nothing but a wonderful father to my little brother
and I, and everyone who knows him would say the same”. We can only imagine how much
this support meant for Johnny, knowing his own daughter did not believe the claims and
stood behind her father, during the hardest time of his life. We can’t help, but wonder
why Lily has since taken down the photo...
In addition to family members, other celebrities also voiced their public support for Johnny.
One of the most unexpected celebrities to back Johnny was singer-songwriter Sia. Sia’s
impromptu support seemed very unexpected, but that did not stop her from siding with
the actor. The singer came out on Twitter to address her support for Depp. She tweeted
“Just showing my public support for Johnny Depp. I mean, I'd love him to get clean and
stop with the jewelry, but he is clearly the victim after hearing those tapes.” The singer
went even further by calling out Amber’s ex-boyfriend Elon Musk for allegedly protecting
Amber and not getting her the help she needs. Although no one is sure where this sudden
burst of support came from it’s very clear that Sia was strongly opinionated at that
point and wanted to see Amber get the justice Sia thought she deserved.
Next, we have Paul Bettany. Paul is an actor that has worked alongside Johnny in the past.
Johnny must have left quite an impression on Bettany. Based on the three times that
they have worked together Bettany figured he was as good a person as any to be a character
witness for Depp. He posted a supportive tweet saying, “Known Johnny Depp for years and
through several relationships. He is the sweetest, kindest, gentlest man that I’ve ever known.
Just saying.” Although, having Bettany on his side didn’t exactly help Depp as texts
between the two actors were revealed in court. During their exchange, it seemed as if Depp
was blowing off steam, but at the same time saying things like “Let’s drown her before
we burn her…”. Not the kind of evidence Depp needed at the time. Spectators wondered
if Depp ever regretted getting support from Bettany, as these text messages obviously
did not go down well for Depp.
Then there is a long-time friend and stand-up comedian, whose work ranges from true-life
graphic perversion to volatile social criticism Doug Stanhope. When asked about Amber and
Johnny’s relationship Stanhope said how he and his friends would watch the toxicity
between Amber and Johnny build since before they were even married. He claims to have
watched Amber manipulate Johnny when Johnny was at his weakest. Stanhope further mentioned
how he couldn’t name one person closely associated with Johnny that didn’t feel
the same as he did.
Doug said that Johnny was in a dour mood, the night before the alleged assault. At first,
they thought it was because of his mother’s death the day before, but Depp opened up in
the most vulnerable of ways and said that it was not only his mother but that Amber
was going to leave him. He said that she was threatening to lie about him publicly in any
and every possible duplicitous way if he didn’t agree to her terms. It was then when Stanhope
allegedly told Johnny how he and his girlfriend Bingo have been well aware of how manipulative
Amber has been to Johnny, this whole time.
Then there’s the confusing statement of an interior decorator Laura Divenere. Although
she is not a celeb herself, she is involved enough in Hollywood to have played a role
in the trial. Laura gave written testimony in favor of Depp, claiming that she didn’t
see Amber’s bruises after an alleged fight between her and Depp. The question that came
up was if this statement was true or if she was forced to sign it. Confusion sprung when
Amber brought out a recording of a conversation she had with Laura after she had signed the
statement. In the recording, Laura talks about how Depp’s attorney was “the biggest asshole
under the sun”. She testified via video that the attorney wrote the majority of the
statement and that she signed it because she was put under pressure. However, Depp’s
defense fought back by presenting a follow-up email, which Laura wrote after the recording.
In the mail, Laura again, confirmed that she did not see bruises on Heard, nor witnessed
any violence on his behalf. Although in court it was proved that she was not coerced into
anything and completed and signed her final statement, we are still not sure whose side
she is actually on or if Amber had anything to do with this.
Looking back at the lawsuit spectators can’t help but notice that Depp isn't just the loser
here legally; he has also clearly lost the plot. The whole goal of his libel lawsuit
was to rehabilitate his reputation. And certainly, if Depp is telling the truth, one can understand
why he would want to clear his name. But by filing multiple lawsuits, it seems that Depp
is only prolonging and expanding the coverage.
Now, what does this all mean for Johnny’s career? Will Dior drop him as the face of
the brand? How many of his current and future projects fall under wraps? Prior to Depp’s
case, director David Yates and author J.K Rowling made the executive decision to keep
Depp in the Fantastic Beasts franchise. At the time many wondered how J.K Rowling could
be happy with still having Depp on board, being a survivor of domestic violence herself.
Before the libel ruling, Yates came out with a statement that he went to Entertainment
Weekly saying Amber is one person who took a pop out of Depp and claimed whatever accusations
are out there. Those accusations did not tally with the person that he has been working with
the past few years. Unfortunately for Depp, a few days after the libel case, Warner Brothers
made the executive decision to let him go from the Fantastic Beasts franchise. Is this
the first of many?
There is no doubt that Johnny is going to have to clean up his act, but is Depp’s
reservoir of talent good enough to resurrect his career and reputation in Hollywood? We
all know that Hollywood loves a good comeback story but given the MeToo movement era, it’s
very hard to have a comeback when you have domestic and sexual violence behind your name.
Has Johnny Depp’s quest in trying to rehabilitate his reputation just led to its tarnation?
Only time will tell.