Actor Johnny Depp, in an interview with The Sunday Times, reflected on the public trial with his ex-wife, also actress Amber Heard, emphasizing that he has no regrets and that he was a "crash test dummy" within the MeToo movement.
The 62-year-old revealed in an interview that the media hype and public opinion during the trial highlighted who stood by him and who didn't.
"As weird as I am, some things are to be trusted. And my loyalty is the last thing people should question. I had one agent for 30 years, but she came to court to say how difficult I am to work with. These are people who lie to you, glorify you, and talk horror stories about you behind your back, and yet they keep the money you give them," the actor said.
"I'll tell you what hurts the most. There are people, I think there are three of them, who have done me dirty," claims Depp, who did not want to reveal their names.
"These people were at my children's birthday parties. They threw them in the air. But I understand the people who couldn't stand up for me, because for them the scariest thing was making the right decision," he continues.
The star of the "Pirates of the Caribbean" films went on trial with his ex-wife Amber Heard, and during the process, a series of accusations from both sides of violence and abuse were made public.
"I was like a crash test dummy for the MeToo movement... And I soaked it all up like a sponge," Depp said, alluding to the movement that began in 2006 and went viral in 2017 when actress Alice Milano encouraged all victims of sexual assault to tell their stories using the hashtag MeToo.
Heard's allegations against Depp surfaced in 2016, but it only resonated with the world after the Harvey Weinstein scandal.
Heard, best known for her role in the “Aquaman” films, accused Depp of domestic violence and filed for divorce and a restraining order. They officially divorced in August 2016 with a settlement worth $7 million.
However, in March 2019, Depp sued Heard over an article she wrote for The Washington Post, in which she described the problems she faced when she spoke publicly about the abuse, although she did not name her ex-husband.
Depp claimed that the text damaged his reputation and career.
After that, the trial in the US began in April 2022 and quickly became a media spectacle. When asked if he regrets it, Depp replied:
"Everything went too far. I knew I would harm myself in some way. Everyone told me it would pass, but I couldn't trust it. What would pass? A fiction that spread across the globe? It wouldn't! If I didn't try to present the truth, it would be as if I had really done everything I was accused of. And my children would have to live with that... So the night before the trial started, I wasn't nervous. Because I didn't have to memorize sentences, I was just telling the truth."
It was ruled that Heard should pay Depp more than ten million dollars in damages, and he should pay her two million. They agreed that the actress should pay Depp one million dollars in damages, which the actor donated to charity.
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