Winona Ryder has volunteered to sign a legal declaration defending her ex-fiancé Johnny Depp from Amber Heard’s abuse allegations. In documents obtained by The Blast, she wrote, “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.”
Ryder and Depp met at the premiere of 1989’s Great Balls of Fire!, and began dating when he was 26 and she was 17. The pair became engaged in 1990, and they stayed together for three years before mutually agreeing to part ways. Depp changed his tattoo from “Winona Forever” to “Wino Forever”, but the Edward Scissorhands co-stars have remained friendly ever since.
Johnny Depp’s marriage to Amber Heard ended much less amicably. Between their wedding in 2015 and the divorce in 2017, Heard secretly recorded an enraged, possibly intoxicated Depp stomping around the kitchen slamming cabinet doors. When he noticed her cell phone, he allegedly tried to knock it off the table. The video suggested Depp was unhinged.
In 2018, Heard published an op-ed in the Washington Post, accusing a former unnamed partner of domestic abuse. While she didn’t directly point the finger at Depp, she did leave several hints about whom she meant, while making no mention of any violence on her part. Afterwards, Depp lost his lucrative recurring role in the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise, and subsequently filed a $50 million defamation lawsuit against his ex-wife.
Those following the case were exposed to another perspective last month, however, when someone leaked audio recordings of Amber Heard. In those tapes, she admitted to hitting Depp, and said “I can’t promise I won’t get physical again. God I fucking get so mad sometimes I lose it.” While those recordings were heavily edited, they painted a picture of an uncontrollably violent Heard who called Depp “a baby” when he tried to deescalate their fights.
Depp is currently involved in one other high-profile lawsuit. After he was cast in J.K. Rowling’s new franchise Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, the British tabloid The Sun wrote that Depp was a “wife beater.” Depp sued, and Rowling defended the decision to hire him, implying that fans didn’t know the whole story.
In her declaration, Winona Ryder has testified to Johnny Depp’s character. “The idea that he is an incredibly violent person is the farthest thing from the Johnny I knew and loved,” she wrote. Depp’s legal team can use the statement in both the libel and defamation suits to advance the case that Heard’s accusations are outside of his pattern of behavior. Read her full statement below.
“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. The idea that he is an incredibly violent person is the farthest 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… 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.”
Winona Ryder is currently starring in HBO’s The Plot Against America. She had been filming Stranger Things 4, but that series has paused over coronavirus concerns.
Johnny Depp is set to reprise his role as Grindelwald in Fantastic Beasts 3, but while filming was set to commence tomorrow, it has also just been delayed over the global pandemic.
Last year, Amber Heard had roles in Aquaman and Her Smell, and she was recently cast in the upcoming Stephen King series The Stand.
Winona Ryder Defends Johnny Depp, Calls Amber Heard’s Allegations “Impossible to Believe”
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