News and Commentary

Penelope Cruz, Winona Ryder, And Vanessa Paradis Defend Johnny Depp From Allegations of Domestic Abuse

   DailyWire.com
Johnny Depp arrives for the "Minamata" premiere during the 70th Berlinale International Film Festival Berlin at Friedrichstadt-Palast on February 21, 2020 in Berlin, Germany.
Andreas Rentz/Getty Images

Johnny Depp is now receiving some powerful support for his defamation case against ex-wife Amber Heard, who previously claimed Depp was abusive toward her.

Penelope Cruz, Winona Ryder, and Depp’s ex-wife Vanessa Paradis have all come to the actor’s defense, saying Depp was never abusive toward them in the years they had known him. When Heard made her allegations during the height of the #MeToo movement, and media outlets rushed to paint Depp as a domestic abuser despite the fact that none of his previous girlfriends ever made similar claims and didn’t step up to confirm Heard’s claims. Also, Heard made the claims during a contentious divorce, which should have called into question her motives.

In March 2019, Depp filed a defamation lawsuit against Heard, alleging that she was the abusive one in their relationship. As The Daily Wire previously reported:

Depp alleges that Heard was the serial abuser in the relationship, and provided “87 newly discovered surveillance videos, 17 sworn eyewitness statements, audio tape, photographs, and other evidence” to prove he was the real victim. One of the testimonies comes from Trinity Esparza, who was the concierge at the penthouse where Heard claims Depp hit her in the face. Esparza now questions how Heard received the mark on her face she claimed was from Depp, after reviewing surveillance footage from three days later, when Heard’s sister Whitney pretended to punch her in the face, according to court documents.

“In the surveillance video, Ms. Esparza testified under oath that she saw Whitney Heard pretend to punch her sister in the face. Then Ms. Heard, [a friend], and Whitney Heard all laughed,” the court documents state.

At one point, Depp alleged, Heard started screaming “Stop hitting me, Johnny” without realizing his security team was just feet away. Depp alleged in the lawsuit that Heard made her allegations to advance her career by co-opting the #MeToo movement. She “became a darling of the #MeToo movement, was the first actress named a Human Rights Champion of the United Nations Human Rights Office, was appointed ambassador on women’s rights at the American Civil Liberties Union, and was hired by L’Oreal Paris as its global spokesperson,” the lawsuit stated.

Now Depp has even more ammunition. Penelope Cruz worked with Depp on three movies, and has provided a declaration in the defamation case alleging Depp was not violent and she never witnessed him be violent toward anyone. Cruz said in her declaration that she met Depp when she was just 19 years old and only knew two phrases in English: “How are you” and “I want to work with Johnny Depp,” according to entertainment website The Blast.

“Many years have passed and I have not only made three movies with him, but I also count on him as a great friend,” she added. “I’ve always been impressed by his kindness, his brilliant mind, his talent, and his peculiar sense of humor.”

She also said that Depp was supportive and helpful during her first six months of pregnancy with her first child, during which the pair worked together on “Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides.”

“During six months of my first pregnancy, I spent every single day with him while we shot ‘Pirates of the Caribbean.’ My husband and I will never forget the sweetness, protection and kindness he treated me with during every single step of that process,” Cruz wrote.

Cruz wrote that she and her husband, Javier Bardem, love Depp and “feel lucky to have someone so special in our lives.”

Winona Ryder, who was engaged to Depp for three years during the early 90s, also provided a declaration supporting Depp from the allegations.

“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,” she wrote in court documents obtained by The Blast. “I find it extremely upsetting knowing him as I do.”

“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,” she wrote.

“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,” she added.

Depp’s ex-wife, Vanessa Paradis, who was with him for 14 years and gave birth to his two children, also spoke in defense of the actor.

“I work as a musician, singer-songwriter, actress, and fashion model. I have known Johnny Depp 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,” she wrote in legal documents obtained by The Blast.

“I am aware of the allegations which Amber Heard has publicly accused Johnny of for more than 4 years now,” Paradis wrote. “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.”

Paradis went so far as to call Heard’s allegations “false facts.”

“I have seen that these outrageous statements have been really distressing, and also caused damage to his career because unfortunately, people have gone on believing these false facts,” she wrote. “This is so upsetting as he has helped so many persons in his personal and professional life, with kindness and generosity.”

In February, audio was released where Heard admitted she hit Depp during their marriage and “pelting him with pots, pans, and vases,” The Daily Wire Previously reported.

Got a tip worth investigating?

Your information could be the missing piece to an important story. Submit your tip today and make a difference.

Submit Tip
The Daily Wire   >  Read   >  Penelope Cruz, Winona Ryder, And Vanessa Paradis Defend Johnny Depp From Allegations of Domestic Abuse