Advertisement
A woman abuse group on Friday voiced their support for Johnny Depp – joining a growing chorus of the actor’s friends and co-stars who have defended him amid claims he physically and sexually abused ex Amber Heard.
Mission NGO, a non-profit organization that fights violence against women and children worldwide, expressed “sympathy” for the 58-year-old “Pirates of the Caribbean” actor.
“As women, as mothers, we have a duty and a responsibility to educate our sons and daughters … without gender discrimination, to prevent violence,” Valeria Altobelli, the group’s president, said in a statement.
“[It is with] deep respect for victims of domestic violence that we must reiterate…our sympathy for Johnny Depp on this bad page in his personal history.”
The group did not elaborate on Friday or immediately returned a request for comment.
The statement came a day after music producer Bruce Witkin testified that Depp used drugs and alcohol to cope with emotional pain. Depp has previously testified that his mother, Betty Sue Palmer, physically and mentally abused him.
Also on Thursday, singer Courtney Love and actress Eva Green defended Depp as a caring person — despite Heard’s testimony that he threatened to kill her and once broke her nose in jealous anger.
Love posted a video on Twitter describing how Depp saved her from a drug overdose at a nightclub in the ’90s and was sweet to her daughter Frances Bean.
“I don’t really want to judge publicly, but I just want to tell you that Johnny resuscitated me in 1995 when I overdosed outside the Viper Room with Sal. Johnny, when I was on crack and Frances was putting up with social workers, he wrote her a four-page letter that she never showed me on her 13th birthday. He didn’t really know me,” she said.
Green, meanwhile, said she had no doubt Depp would “emerge victorious” from the trial.
“I have no doubt that Johnny will be revealed to the world with his good name and beautiful heart, and life will be better than ever for him and his family,” said Green, who starred in the 2012 fantasy series ” Dark Shadows” played. ‘ wrote on Instagram.
Other female celebrities – including Sia, Wynona Ryder, Helena Bonham and Penélope Cruz – spoke out for Depp during his defamation trial in the UK in 2020.
“The notion that he’s an incredibly violent person is the furthest thing from the Johnny I knew and loved,” Ryder, a former girlfriend of Depp, said in 2020. “He was never, never violent towards me. He has never been violent or abusive towards anyone I have seen.”
Cruz added, “I’ve seen Johnny in so many situations and he’s always kind to everyone around me. He’s one of the most generous people I know,” she said.
Musician Sia also tweeted in defense of Depp at the time, writing: “Just showing my public support for Johnny Depp.
“I mean, I’d love to clean him up and stop the jewelry, but he’s clearly the victim after hearing those tapes.”
In the UK case, Depp sued the publisher of Britain’s Sun over a headline calling him a “wife beater” and lost.
Depp is suing Heard for $50 million for alleging in a Washington Post op-ed that she was a victim of domestic violence.
