Depp is no wife beater, say his exes
...say two of his exes, who are ready to back him in dramatic court case
TWO of Johnny Depp’s former partners have dismissed claims that he is a ‘wife beater’.
Vanessa Paradis and Winona Ryder’s support for the Hollywood star came in court papers rejecting allegations by his ex-wife Amber Heard that he was a violent ‘monster’.
Miss Paradis, who has two children with Depp, 56, insisted that he was kind and generous and never abusive to her in the 14 years they were together, the High Court heard yesterday.
Miss Ryder, meanwhile, said the Pirates Of The Caribbean actor was ‘never, never violent towards me’.
Depp is suing The Sun for libel over an article that described him as a wife beater in April 2018. A trial at the High Court could hear all three actresses giving conflicting evidence about ‘the hideous allegations of
‘He was never violent or abusive to me’
domestic physical violence’, a preliminary hearing was told yesterday.
The 15-day case is due to start on July 7, with Miss Heard – the newspaper’s key witness – said to be ‘very keen’ to give evidence. She would have to fly from Los Angeles to London 14 days beforehand to comply with coronavirus quarantine rules.
Depp, who is in France, which is exempt from the quarantine restriction, would also travel to give evidence. He strenuously denies being a wife beater and allegations that his four-year marriage to Miss Heard, 33, was characterised by drug-fuelled rages in which he routinely hit her or smashed things, the court heard.
Trial judge Mr Justice Nicol was asked by Depp’s barrister David Sherborne to permit evidence from Miss Paradis. The French singer and actress, 47, said in a statement: ‘I have known Johnny for more than 25 years. We’ve been partners for 14 years and 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. He was never violent or abusive to me.’ Mr Sherborne also applied to be allowed evidence from Miss Ryder, who was engaged to Depp for three years after they co-starred in the 1990 film Edward Scissorhands.
The actress said in a statement: ‘I cannot wrap my head around [Miss Heard’s] accusations. He was never, never violent towards me. He was never, never abusive at all towards me.’
Miss Heard met Depp on the set of the 2011 film The Rum Diary and they married in Los Angeles in 2015. They settled their divorce out of court in 2017.
At yesterday’s hearing, conducted remotely over Skype, Mr Sherborne said Depp denies that he has ever hit any woman. He also wants to rely on evidence from Kate James, Miss Heard’s personal assistant who saw her daily but ‘never saw a single injury’ on her, said the barrister.
Mr Sherborne added: ‘It supports Mr Depp’s case that Ms Heard was in fact the aggressor, as opposed to him – she was the angry and abusive one.’
Sasha Wass QC, for Sun publisher News Group Newspapers, said Miss James’s evidence was ‘tainted’ and ‘largely tangential’.
Adjourning the case, Mr Justice Nicol said he would decide on whether to allow the new evidence ‘as quickly as possible’.