I always felt so very safe with Johnny, says Winona
Ex-lovers hit out at ‘wife beater’ claim
JOHNNY Depp’s former lovers leapt to his defence yesterday – with Winona Ryder saying he was an ‘extremely caring guy’ and felt ‘so very, very safe’ with him.
Oscar-nominated Ms Ryder said it was ‘impossible to believe’ Amber Heard’s 14 allegations of domestic violence.
Meanwhile, Vanessa Paradis – who has two children with the Pirates of the Caribbean star – branded Ms Heard’s abuse claims ‘false facts’.
Both actresses gave blockbuster statements at London’s high court in support of Depp, who is suing the Sun newspaper for libel for calling him a ‘wife beater’.
In a twist, they were both due to give testimony via videolink from LA and Paris, but Depp’s lawyers decided not to call them.
The judge agreed to make their written witness statements public after a request from the Press.
Ms Ryder starred with Depp in Edward Scissorhands in 1990 and the couple were engaged for three years.
She said: ‘I obviously was not there during his marriage to Amber, but, from my experience, which was so wildly different, I was absolutely shocked, confused and upset when I heard the accusations against him.’
Ms Heard, 34, married to Depp from 2015 to 2016, alleges the 57year-old hit, slapped, choked and headbutted her in drunken and drug-fuelled rages.
But Ms Ryder, 48, said: ‘The idea that he is an incredibly violent person is the furthest thing from the Johnny I knew and loved. I cannot wrap my head around these accusations. He was never, never violent towards me.
‘He was never, never abusive at all 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.’
Ms Ryder, who was nominated for a Best Actress Oscar in 1994 film Little Women, added: ‘I do not want to call anyone a liar but from my experience of Johnny, it is impossible to believe that such horrific allegations are true.
‘I find it extremely upsetting knowing him as I do.’ The court has heard self-confessed alcoholic Depp had a ‘Winona Forever’ tattoo which he changed to ‘Wino Forever’ after they split up.
The bombshell claims came on day eight of the three-week libel trial. Ms Heard is the newspaper’s star witness, and has alleged Depp was a ‘monster’.
Depp insists her claims are a ‘hoax’ and that his co-star in The Rum Diary was the ‘abuser’.
In her witness statement, Ms Paradis – Depp’s partner for 14 years and mother to his two children, Lily-Rose, 21, and Jack, 18 – said: ‘I have known Johnny for 25 years.
‘We raised our two children together. Through all these years I’ve known Johnny to be a kind, attentive, generous and non-violent person and father.’
The 47-year-old French actress, singer and Chanel model, who became a star at 14 with her hit single Joe le Taxi, called Ms Heard’s statements ‘outrageous’.
Ms Paradis said: ‘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.
‘This is so upsetting as he has helped so many persons in his personal and professional life with kindness and generosity.’
Sasha Wass, the QC for the Sun, said she would have liked to crossexamine Ms Ryder and Ms Paradis, but ‘a decision has been made to abandon them as witnesses’ by Depp’s legal team.
David Sherborne, for Depp, said there was no need to call the two actresses because Ms Wass had not suggested to Depp that he had ever hit his former partners. The case continues.
‘Kind, attentive and generous’