Paul Bettany Addresses Controversial Johnny Depp Texts About Amber Heard in Friendship Update
Paul Bettany is on a quest to set the record straight about his friendship with Johnny Depp.
The VisionQuest star addressed their controversial text exchange joking about burning the Pirates of the Caribbean alum’s ex Amber Heard, which was made public during Depp’s legal battles.
The texts, originally sent between 2013 and 2014, were first brought to light during Depp’s unsuccessful libel case against The Sun in 2020, when he sued the U.K. tabloid for calling him a “wife beater” over Heard’s domestic violence accusations.
The texts were brought forth again during Depp’s 2022 defamation trial against Heard, who was ultimately found responsible for defaming her ex-husband in a Washington Post op-ed.
Describing Depp’s legal saga as an “interesting time,” Bettany told The Times in an interview published Oct. 15, “I hadn’t spoken to Johnny in years when that happened and I haven’t spoken to him since.”
“I was being painted as this close friend of a guy I hadn’t spoken to in years,” he continued, “and, honestly, amid all the s–t two celebrities threw at each other, that bit was the most odd.”