Johnny Depp’s first wife, Lori Depp, spoke out on his defamation trial against Amber Heard and she was definitely Team Johnny. The makeup artist, 65, defended her ex husband almost a year after a jury found Amber’s abuse allegations against him to be libelous and slammed the actress’ actions during a April 11th appearance on the podcast Popcorned Planet. “I’m no angel, I’ve done my share of s***** things to people, but what [Amber] did was absolutely horrific and if there were things that I could do to her that were legal I would do them,” Lori stated.
When asked by the podcast host how she felt about seeing “‘she who shall not be named’ making all these accusations and putting [Johnny] through the wringer,” Lori, who was married to the star from 1983 to 1985, gave a brief run down of her take on the Johnny/Amber relationship.
“I had met her before, I’d been to parties at his house and she seemed really nice and she was gorgeous and what’s not to love,” Lori said of Amber, who began dating Johnny in 2009. “But as the time went by and I would hear things about her – she who shall not be named – he didn’t seem too happy all the time. I didn’t see him a lot so I can’t really say.”
In December, Amber announced she had settled the case and dropped her appeal after she was ordered to pay Johnny $10 million in damages for being found guilty of defaming him in an op-ed piece for The Washington Post. “It is important for me to say I never chose this,” Amber wrote on Instagram. “I defended my truth and in doing so my life as I knew it was destroyed. The vilification I have faced on social media is an amplified version of the ways in which women are re-victimized when they come forward.”
Although she was found guilty, Amber was awarded $2 million for her counterclaim, which held Johnny’s lawyer responsible for defamation in calling Amber a liar. Amber also released a statement after the verdict. “I’m even more disappointed with what this verdict means for other women,” she said. “It sets back the clock to a time when a woman who spoke up and spoke out could be publicly shamed and humiliated. It sets back the idea that violence against women is to be taken seriously.”
For Lori, Johnny’s well-being was on her mind during the trial. “The things that affected me more were the things he said in court – I probably broke down several times because I felt really bad for him.” She added. “He’s very private and I think for him to come out so wholeheartedly was what he really needed to do.”
