Johnny Depp and Amber Heard have now dragged James Franco into their messy court feud, with the former testifying that the 127 Hours actor was “creepy” and “rapey” towards his former wife. In fairness, though, we knew that Franco would be a part of this controversy ever since leaked photos from a couple of months ago showed him and the Aquaman actress cuddling in Depp’s penthouse elevator in 2016, after Depp had allegedly hit his wife.
Earlier this week, the Pirates of the Caribbean star’s libel case against The Sun kicked off in court, with testimony alleging that Depp jokingly held one of Heard’s dogs out of a window and slapped his then-partner three times after she mocked him because of his Winona Ryder tattoo. As you’d expect, Depp denied both claims.
Amid the heated battle, Depp brought up the matter of James Franco on day 2, recalling an instance when his former flame had called the actor creepy and rapey. The two had worked together on Pineapple Express back in 2008, which is why he was uncomfortable with them hanging out together for 2015’s The Adderall Diaries.
“She told me many things that were very, very negative about Mr. Franco, that he had tried to kiss her and made sexual advances towards her on the previous film they had made together. She said he was a creep and a rapist. She said he was quite aggressive in his advances towards her,” Depp revealed.
When asked about the exact terms that Heard had used to describe Franco, Depp clarified his statement, saying:
“She had to sort of run from the advances at one point, that he was kind of non-stop, she felt he was creepy and rapey, so I said a rapist.”
This is apparently why Depp was shocked to learn that the two were spending a lot of time together in 2016. Not to mention that the alleged instance when Heard cheated on her husband with Franco happened in the same year.
Previously, The Disaster Artist star had requested a sealed deposition in response to Johnny Depp‘s legal team to make a statement in the case, but it seems that the actor has found a different way to drag him into things, which could be incriminating for Franco’s career since he’s been trying to keep a low profile after coming under fire amid the #MeToo movement for inappropriate behavior while teaching at his film school Studio 4.