Johnny Depp and Amber Heard’s messy court feud took a surprising turn when the former filed a $50 million defamation lawsuit to clear his name from allegations of physical and emotional abuse. Now, it appears that the actor’s ex-fiancée, Winona Ryder, has also gotten herself dragged into this ongoing legal battle.
No one would’ve believed a narrative in which the Pirates of the Caribbean star was the true victim of their toxic relationship had it not been for the audio clip that exposed the Aquaman actress for getting physically violent with her former husband, an allegation that has ironically fueled much of the backlash against Depp ever since the divorce lawsuit in 2016. Nevertheless, the tables have now turned for Heard and her attorneys in the wake of these new revelations, and from what we gather, things will only get more complicated from here.
Now, Stranger Things actress Winona Ryder has filed an official declaration in the circuit court of Fairfax County, Virginia, to defend her former fiancée. As you may know, Ryder and Depp began dating in 1989 and were engaged between 1990 to 1993. So it’d be fair to assume that she knows him well.
Or at least that’s how she started her declaration; by saying Depp was as close to her as a family member. Ryder then noted that while she wasn’t there during his marriage to Heard, she was “shocked, confused, and upset” to hear such accusations against her former partner.
The Edward Scissorhands actress continued to insist that she’s never witnessed any violent behavior from Depp whatsoever.
“He was never, never violent towards me. He was never, never abusive at all towards me,” she wrote. “He has never been violent or abusive towards anybody I have seen. I truly and honestly only know him as a really good man- an incredibly loving, extremely caring guy who was so very protective of me and the people that he loves, and I felt so very, very safe with him. I do not want to call anyone a liar but from my experience of Johnny, it is impossible to believe that such horrific allegations are true. I find it extremely upsetting knowing him as I do.”
Heard, meanwhile, has said that she only hit her husband once, and in an act of self-defense to save her sister, but Johnny Depp‘s attorneys have since denied these claims. Though in fairness, with both sides and their respective friends or family all issuing contradictory statements, who’s to say which party is telling the truth anymore?