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In 2022, the world was transfixed by the Johnny Depp and Amber Heard trial. This was a culmination of a messy divorce where both parties claimed abuse, and Depp lost millions in movie parts and was essentially blacklisted.
Paul Bettany who has worked with Depp on multiple occasions, was dragged into the fray after The Sun newspaper called Depp a wife-beater and was subsequently sued by the actor for defamation. A text exchange between Bettany and Depp was used in court against Depp, and he ultimately lost the case.
Bettany and Depp
Depp met Heard in 2009 during the filming of The Rum Diary. They started dating around early 2012, got engaged in 2014, and married on Depp’s private island in February 2015. Heard filed for divorce on May, 23, 2016 and was granted a restraining order against Depp. She asked for $50,000 a month from Depp in court and Depp claimed she was lying about the abuse to get that money.
In the highly publicized divorce proceedings, Heard claimed that Depp was “verbally and physically abusive” and often in a haze of drugs and alcohol. Heard’s alleged injuries appeared in several news outlets. They reached a settlement in 2017 and Depp paid her $7 million, which she pledged to pay to the ACLU and a children’s hospital in L.A. She paid less than half of that. That could have been the end of it, but things were just getting started.
In April 2018, The Sun published an article with a headline calling Depp a “wife beater.” In June of that year, Depp sued the tabloid for defamation. That’s where Bettany comes in. In a far-reaching interview from 2021, Bettany discussed a series of texts between him and Depp that became key evidence in the defamation case.
Bettany and Depp worked together on three movies: The Tourist, Transcendence, and Mortdecai. The text exchange is from 2013. In it, Depp talks about burning and drowning Heard. Bettany plays along, and the whole thing feels like a personal joke between friends, albeit a very dark and scary one. Bettany discussed what it felt like to have his texts disseminated in open court, saying his notions of privacy were “shattered.”
“It was very strange. It was a strange moment. What was strange about it was you suddenly have one of the most scabrous newspapers in London and their lawyers poring through your texts for the last 10 years. Can you imagine what it would be like, honestly, to have a bunch of lawyers go through every one of your emails and texts for 10 years? All I can tell you was that it was an unpleasant feeling.”
In the texts, Depp says “Lets burn Amber!!!” Bettany replies in a way that makes it obvious he is playing along with what he assumes is a joke:
“Having through it through I don’t think we should burn Amber- she’s delightful company and easy on the eye, plus I’m not sure she’s a witch. We could of course try the English course of action in these predicaments- we do a drowning test. Thoughts? N.B I have a pool.”
Depp answers: “Let’s drown her before we burn her!!! I will f*ck her burnt corpse afterward to make sure she is dead…”
Bettany: “My thoughts entirely! Lets be CERTAIN before we pronounce her a witch.”
Depp loses in London
That exchange was part of what made Mr Justice Nicol dismiss Depp’s claims of libel, ruling that he found the abuse allegations, including that Amber feared for her life, “substantially true.” This was the real start of Depp’s downfall. Movie offers dried up and Depp’s public image was severely damaged.
Bettany supported his friend during the divorce. In 2016 on Twitter, he said that he’d “Known Johnny Depp for years and through several relationships. He’s the sweetest, kindest, gentlest man that I’ve ever known. Just saying.”
He followed that up with another tweet: “All I’m saying-Domestic violence is a serious allegation. Trial by twitter is unhelpful. Let the facts come out before rushing to judgment.”
Whatever the status of their friendship now, it also came out during the trial that Amber Heard was jealous of Bettany and that at one point she made his stepson cry. Seems like there was bad blood all around.