THE TRUTH ABOUT DEPP – AND HER FREUD TATTOO
LUCIAN Freud left an indelible mark on Kate Moss when he inked a tattoo on her thigh while she was sitting for a portrait.
Recalling their friendship, she says that the celebrated artist, who died in 2011 aged 88, originally suggested a chicken upside down in a bucket for a design, but they settled on a more traditional image.
She says: ‘He gave me a bottle of really good Rothschild wine, and he got out his etching needle and scraped into my thigh a flock of birds which now look like varicose veins. But I am still probably the only living person with a Lucian Freud on my thigh.’
For Freud’s acclaimed 2002 portrait, Moss posed nude while heavily pregnant with daughter Lila. The painting took around nine months to complete and was later sold to an anonymous bidder for £3.9 million.
Moss prides herself on her loyalty to friends. In 2011, she publicly defended fashion designer John Galliano when he was found guilty by a French court of making antisemitic comments.
She also caused a sensation earlier this year when she gave video evidence in support of ex boyfriend Johnny Depp in his libel trial against Amber Heard, who had mentioned a rumour that the model had been pushed down the stairs by the actor when they were dating.
Explaining her stance, Moss says: ‘I believe in the truth, and I believe in fairness and justice. I know that John Galliano is not a bad person – he had an alcohol problem and people turn. People aren’t themselves when they drink, and they say things that they would never say if they were sober.’
She adds: ‘I know the truth about Johnny [Depp]. I know he never kicked me down the stairs. I had to say that truth.’
Depp, who was in a relationship with Moss between 1994 and 1998, won the lawsuit against his ex wife Heard last month.