Former flames Johnny Depp and Amber Heard have been involved in an ugly public spat for some time now. After citing irreconcilable differences and filing for divorce in 2016 following one year of marriage, Heard obtained a restraining order against Depp, claiming he was abusive throughout the time they were together. Depp denied the allegations and accused his ex-wife of trying to blackmail him into a better financial settlement. As the tussle between the estranged lovers tightened, Depp found himself filing a defamation case against The Sun’s publishers NGN Newspapers over a 2018 article which referred to him as a wife-beater.
Fast forward two years and the Pirates of the Caribbean star lost the high-stake libel case against the British tabloid, with the court’s ruling eventually resulting in his forced exit from the Fantastic Beasts franchise. But Depp was not alone! His fans started online petitions demanding justice for Depp and also demanded the removal of Heard from the Aquaman series, stating there was proof that she had been physically abusive towards the Hollywood heartthrob during their marriage. Not only fans but Depp’s supporters from the Hollywood industry came to his defense too. Reiterating the claims of Depp’s fans, Australian singer-songwriter Sia uploaded previous recordings of Heard’s telephonic conversation with Depp.
Amber Heard & Johnny Depp: The Real ABUSER FINALLY REVEALED!! (UNCENSOR… https://t.co/uY1PLsDUYp via @YouTube classic borderline behavior on her part.
— sia (@Sia) October 16, 2020
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.— sia (@Sia) October 16, 2020
Also @elonmusk didn't you give her the seven million she "donated" from her settlement?
She still came out seven million richer.
Why are you protecting her?
She will never get the help she needs if we all stay silent!— sia (@Sia) October 16, 2020
Posting a series of tweets, she wrote, “Amber Heard & Johnny Depp: The Real ABUSER FINALLY REVEALED!! (UNCENSOR… https://youtu.be/aca0KWoHtqQ via @YouTube. Classic borderline behavior on her part.” Sia added, “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.” She continued, “Also @elonmusk didn’t you give her the seven million she “donated” from her settlement? She still came out seven million richer. Why are you protecting her? She will never get the help she needs if we all stay silent!” Sia was preceded and followed by several Hollywood A-listers who jumped to Depp’s rescue too.
The first among them was American actor and Depp’s former partner Winona Ryder, who filed a declaration in the Virginia defamation case, stating she cannot believe Johnny would ever commit an act of domestic violence. She said, “I knew Johnny very well years ago. We were together as a couple for four years, and I counted him as my best friend, and as close to me as family. I count our relationship as one of the more significant relationships of my life. I understand that it is very important that I speak from my own experience.” She mentioned, “He was never, never violent towards me. He has never been violent or abusive towards anybody I have seen. I truly and honestly only know him as a really good man- an incredibly loving, extremely caring guy who was so very protective of me and the people that he loves, and I felt so very, very safe with him.”
Actor Penelope Cruz filed her own written deposition on behalf of Depp, where she weighed in on his caring nature as well as her working relationship with him while the two were shooting for Pirates of the Caribbean. “I’ve seen Johnny in so many situations and he is always kind to everyone around. He is one of the most generous people I know,” she noted. “During six months of my first pregnancy, I spent every single day with him while we shot Pirates of the Caribbean. My husband and I will never forget the sweetness, protection and kindness he treated me with during every single step of that process.”
Cruz’s husband Javier Bardem sang nothing but praises for Depp too. “I love Johnny. He has always been a true gentleman and an extremely generous and caring friend to my family and myself,” he said in a previous statement. “I not only love Johnny but respect him deeply and I thank him for being the free and careless little boy he is in his art and the mature and loving man he is in the lives of others, always there when we need him,” he added. Throwing shade at Heard, Bardem noted, “I love Johnny because he is a good human being, trapped in the lies and manipulations of toxic beings and yet smiling and loving us all in spite of it. How? Through his music, through his acting, through his silence. This means a lot. Thank you, Johnny. Millions of others like me love you deeply.”
Depp’s ex-beau Vanessa Paradis, who he dated for 14 long years, also presented her statement. “This is nothing like the true Johnny I have known, and from my personal experience of many years, I can say he was never violent or abusive to me,” she wrote in a declaration of her own. “I have seen that these outrageous statements have been really distressing, and also caused damage to his career because, unfortunately, people have gone on believing these false facts.”
This Claim Is Disputed Memes Trend On Twitter: Here’s The Reason
Depp has stated that “his resolve remains strong” and he will file for appeal after losing the libel trial against NGN Newspapers. “The surreal judgement of the court in the UK will not change my fight to tell the truth and I confirm that I plan to appeal,” he said earlier. “I intend to prove that the allegations against me are false. My life and career will not be defined by this moment in time. Thank you for reading. Sincerely, Johnny Depp.” Depp’s legal counsel referred to the verdict as “perverse” and “bewildering”, with his lawyers stating that it would be “ridiculous” not to appeal.