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Yahoo
5 days ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Johnny Depp Opens Up About Being Abused By His Mother: 'She Taught Me How Not To Raise Kids'
In a revealing interview, Johnny Depp opened up about enduring a violent and emotionally abusive childhood and the sense of betrayal he felt after being dropped by Hollywood. He reflected on being abruptly removed from the "Fantastic Beasts" franchise and being deserted by close friends during his legal battles with ex-wife Amber Heard. Despite professional fallout and personal pain, Johnny Depp found vindication after winning his 2022 defamation trial. Depp opened up about the lasting scars from his abusive childhood and the turbulent period he faced after being pushed out of Hollywood. Now 62, the "Pirates of the Caribbean" star reflected on the torment he endured at the hands of his late mother, Betty Sue Palmer, who passed away in 2016 at age 81. "She beat me with a f-cking stick, a f-cking shoe, an ashtray, a phone, it didn't matter, man," he told The Telegraph. "But I thank her for that." Depp, who shares two children, Lily-Rose, 26, and Jack, 23, with former partner Vanessa Paradis, said his mother's behavior taught him what he wanted to avoid as a father. "She taught me how not to raise kids. Just do the exact opposite of what she did," he said. The actor first opened up about these traumatic experiences during his 2022 $100 million defamation trial against ex-wife Amber Heard. In court, Depp denied all allegations of abuse, and the case became a media firestorm that left both actors sidelined by major studios. "In our house, we were never exposed to any type of safety or security, the only thing to do was stay out of the line of fire," he said while on the stand. "My mother was quite unpredictable. She had the ability to be as cruel as anyone can be with all of us," Depp added. After moving from Kentucky to Florida, Depp's family lived in a motel for nearly a year. The physical and emotional toll of his mother's behavior left lasting marks. "Physical violence, physical abuse. That was a constant," Depp recalled. "We were all somewhat shell-shocked. She'd walked past, you'd shield yourself because you didn't know what would happen." He added: "She could become quite violent, and she was quite violent, and she was quite cruel. There was physical abuse, certainly, which could be in the form of an ash tray being flung at you, or you'd get beat with a high heeled shoe, or a telephone, or whatever's handy." While the physical violence Depp endured at the hands of his mother was harrowing, he revealed that it was the emotional turmoil that left the deepest scars. "The verbal abuse, the psychological abuse, was almost worse than the beatings," he explained. "The beatings were just physical pain. The physical pain, you learn to deal with. You learn to accept it. You learn to deal with it." In the same interview, Depp addressed the abrupt end of his role as Gellert Grindelwald in the "Fantastic Beasts" series. Despite already filming scenes for "The Crimes of Grindelwald" in 2018, he said the decision to remove him was swift and unexpected. "It literally stopped in a millisecond," he told the publication. "Like, while I was doing the movie. They said we'd like you to resign. But what was really in my head was they wanted me to retire." Refusing to be erased, Depp said his response was defiant: "F-ck you. There's far too many of me to kill. If you think you can hurt me more than I've already been hurt, you're gravely mistaken." Personal betrayals compounded Depp's professional challenges amid his legal battle with Heard. Just last month, the actor opened up about feeling "deserted" by three of his closest friends after abuse allegations emerged from his turbulent divorce. Reflecting on that time, Depp, speaking to the Sunday Times, said: "I'll tell you what hurts. There are people, and I'm thinking of three, who did me dirty. Those people were at my kids' parties, throwing them in the air." He continued: "Look, I understand people who could not stand up [for me] because the most frightening thing to them was making the right choice." Adding to the sting, Depp's longtime agent of 30 years, Tracey Jacobs, whom he fired in 2016, later testified against him during his defamation trial. Jacobs claimed studios had grown "reluctant" to hire the actor due to his habitual tardiness. Depp responded pointedly: "My loyalty is the last thing anybody could question. I was with one agent for 30 years, but she spoke in court about how difficult I was." Despite the personal and professional damage, Depp found redemption in the courtroom. After losing a libel case in the UK, he took Heard to court for defamation in the U.S. and won. The trial, which captivated the world, concluded in June 2022, with the jury ruling in his favor. The "jury gave me my life back. I am truly humbled," he said following the verdict, per the Daily Mail. "Speaking the truth was something that I owed to my children and to all those who have remained steadfast in their support of me. I feel at peace knowing I have finally accomplished that."
Daily Mail
22-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
Johnny Depp shares harsh assessment of himself in rare comments about disastrous Amber Heard relationship
Johnny Depp had some harsh words for himself in newly published comments about his former relationship with Amber Heard. The 62-year-old actor — who recently made a surprise visit to a children's hospital in Spain — shared a rare reflection on his disastrous marriage to Heard, as well as their highly publicized 2022 defamation trial, in a new interview with The Sunday Times. During the interview, Depp described himself as a 'sucker' in his dealings with love. Depp married the Aquaman actress in 2015 after the pair met on set of The Rum Diary (2011). However, she filed for divorce the following year, and it was finalized in 2017. During the Depp v. Heard trial that came to an end in June 2022, Johnny received a rally of support from fans both inside and outside the Fairfax County courtroom in Virginia. At one point, he was questioned how he had felt to see negative public opinion geared towards Amber - someone he had once been in love with. 'So, what were my initial dealings with what we call "love?" Clearly obtuse. And what that means is, if you're a sucker like I am, sometimes you look in a person's eye and see some sadness, some lonely thing and you feel you can help that person.' The Pirates Of The Caribbean star continued, 'But no good deed goes unpunished. 'Because there are those who, when you try to love and help them, will start to give you an understanding of what that malaise, that perturbance was in their eyes. It manifests itself in other ways.' The actor added, 'And the interesting thing is that it is merely a sliver of my life I have chosen to explore, because it is my mother and my father. Do you know what I'm saying?' Depp had briefly talked about his childhood as an example and told the outlet, 'I wouldn't say it was a house without love... 'But it was an intense love and I would not say that myself, or my siblings, or my pop and mom, experienced any great love or bliss.' Johnny and Amber's publicized legal issues began when he filed a libel lawsuit against The Sun's publisher and it's executive editor Dan Wootton over a 2018 article which included claims that he was a 'wife beater.' But in 2020, the High Court of Justice ruled in favor of The Sun's publisher and Wootton, but Depp later sued Heard in 2019 for defamation over a 2018 op-ed article she wrote for The Washington Post. She countersued her ex-husband in 2020 and the trial officially began in April 2022. Two months later, the jury's verdict was in favor of Depp; seen in May 2022 in Virginia She countersued her ex-husband in 2020 and the trial officially began in April 2022. Two months later, the jury's verdict was in favor of Depp. At the time, the star had offered his reaction to the ruling and expressed that the 'jury gave me my life back. I am truly humbled.' He star also expressed, 'Speaking the truth was something that I owed to my children and to all those who have remained steadfast in their support of me. I feel at peace knowing I have finally accomplished that.' Amber has since moved and settled in Spain - where she raises her three children, a daughter born in 2021 via surrogacy and she announced in May that she had also welcomed twins. Depp has also made his return to the big screen following the trial, such as Jeanne du Barry (2023). However, while talking to The Sunday Times, the actor additionally reflected on how friends turned their backs on him and 'did me dirty' amid his legal drama with Heard. 'As weird as I am, certain things can be trusted. And my loyalty is the last thing anybody could question.' Depp continued, 'I was with one agent for 30 years, but she spoke in court about how difficult I was. 'That's death by confetti, these fake motherf****** who lie to you, celebrate you, say all sorts of horror behind your back, yet keep the money - that confetti machine going - because what do they want? Dough.' Johnny then shared, 'There are people, and I'm thinking of three, who did me dirty...,' before emphasizing that they had been very close. 'And, look, I understand people who could not stand up [for me], because the most frightening thing to them was making the right choice. I was pre-MeToo. I was like a crash test dummy for MeToo.' Last year in October, Depp insisted that he 'holds no ill will towards anyone' following the legal drama and bitter divorce from Heard. 'Honestly, I can sit here this very second and think about all the hit pieces, and how everybody was against me, and yeah yeah yeah he is off the map … endless stuff,' he told The Hollywood Reporter. 'I can remember it all. Went through it all. Some of it was not the most beautiful time, some of it was hilarious. Some of it was mad.' The actor added, 'The thing is, it simply just was, and it simply just is. So, for me, it happened. I learned, man. 'Everything that we experience, whether you're given a snow cone or walking your dog, you learn something somewhere along the way.' Johnny then explained, 'So I don't have any ill feelings toward anyone. I don't have this great reserve of hatred, because hatred requires caring. Why carry that baggage?' Johnny is preparing to hit the big screen once again for the upcoming thriller Day Drinker. The movie is being directed by Marc Webb and also stars Penelope Cruz, Madelyn Cline, Manu Rios and Javier Botet. The premise is: 'An enigmatic stranger forms an unlikely bond with a grieving bartender who lost her lover, their lives intertwining in unexpected ways,' per IMDB. A first look photo was recently released which shows an unrecognizable Depp stepping into the shoes of his character - which includes graying hair and a beard. When questioned by The Sunday Times if he has any regrets, the actor admitted, 'I have no regrets about anything - because, truly, what can we do about last week's dinner? Not a f***ing thing.'
