Winona Ryder has a new Netflix thriller out called Stranger Things. Winona has been attempting a “comeback” for more than a decade now, which is too bad because despite her personal problems, she was always an underrated actress and she didn’t deserve to have her career gut-punched like it was in the early 2000s. Also, here’s a true story: I was always more into Winona than Johnny Depp when they were together. Like, Winona was always the one I adored, and I didn’t really care about her thing with Depp. But when they were together, they were magical and tabloid-baity. They were messy and beautiful and crazy and very, very ‘90s. Anyway, Winona has a new interview with Time Magazine and she was asked her thoughts about Amber Heard’s domestic abuse allegations against Depp. Vanessa Paradis already gave Depp a character reference, but Kate Moss still hasn’t said anything, and now they’re asking Winona. Here’s everything she said about Depp to Time:
Time: My editor would kill me if I had you here and didn’t ask you about the recent allegations of domestic abuse against Johnny Depp.
Winona Ryder: Look, I mean, obviously I can only speak from my own experience. It’s very tricky because if it were any other type of scandal, like cheating, you could be like, ‘None of my business. No comment. Not appropriate for me.’ But I think because what is being said is so horrific and such a global issue for millions of women, obviously, that I understand why people feel it is their business. I get it. And I get why you would ask.
I can only speak from my own experience, which was wildly different than what is being said. I mean, he was never, never that way towards me. Never abusive at all towards me. I only know him as a really good, loving, caring guy who is very, very protective of the people that he loves. It’s hard because I feel like—that’s my experience. And it’s been a very long time.
I don’t know how you feel about it, but it’s like anybody who says anything about it is a victim-blamer. I wasn’t there. I don’t know what happened. I’m not calling anyone a liar. I’m just saying, it’s difficult and upsetting for me to wrap my head around it. Look, it was a long time ago, but we were together for four years, and it was a big relationship for me. And we have a lot of mutual friends. I just never heard anything like that about him. But, again, I feel like even saying that, I’m going to get death threats or something. I’m not on social media, so maybe I will be spared.
But yes, it’s really hard. I don’t know what your love history is, but imagine someone you were in a relationship with was accused of this. I get that there are patterns of abuse. I get why you’re asking me. But it’s weird because imagine if someone you dated when you were—I was 17 when I met him—was accused of that. It’s just shocking. I have never seen him be violent toward a person before. It’s just hard to picture. The only word I can come up with is unimaginable. You know with certain people you hear something and go, “I can see that.” But this isn’t that. So anyway this is the first time I’ve said anything so I don’t know. I can only offer my own experience. It’s such a serious, horrible thing to be accused of.
It’s almost as if your brother or someone you just never—so, you know, there’s a part of me that is thinking, ‘Is it even appropriate for me to say anything?’ But because of the seriousness of it, it’s been brought into a thing where it’s trickier for me to say, ‘None of my business.’ But that’s all I have to offer is my own experience, which was a very, very long time ago.
I don’t think anyone is going to come after Winona for what she said? I think it was smart for Time Magazine to give her the space to say what she wanted to say, in context, and we can judge her words from that. She’s saying that she has a problem believing that Depp is an abusive person, but she also says that she can only speak to her experience and her experience is from two decades ago. The problem with Vanessa Paradis’ statement was that Vanessa extrapolated “he never hit me, therefor he’s not capable of hitting anyone.” Which is not something she could ever know. And Winona isn’t saying that.
Photos courtesy of WENN, Getty.
She’s pretty much said flat out he was abusive towards her in the past.
Paid off, or intimidated? Or just trying to hitch her wagon to the most powerful side?
“She’s pretty much said flat out he was abusive towards her in the past”
Links?
Yes, where are the links? Because I am a huge Winona Ryder fan and I haven’t heard say that at all.
I dont know if Lucy had a specific quote in mind but I have read a number of quotes in recent months describing Depps short fuse. I dont remember if any of those statements were from Winona but obviously the fact that people (and Depp himself) have discussed his furious temper completely calls into question this whole statement. You would think she was describing Mahtma Gandhi, not a man who has physically attacked photographers.
It doesnt matter how many qualifiers she throws in there, this statement will be viewed as an ex supporting Depp and make Ambers road even harder. She should have kept her thieving little trap shut.
Don’t have the link but to my knowledge during the Black Swan press tour she said she drew from her experience with her first boyfriend she has when she was 18 because he was always smashing things. She said everything is very dramatic when you are 18. That boyfriend should def be Depp and she seemed like maybe she is not woke enough to recognize that kind of behavior is abusive.
@Bethany-NO. That was referring to Christian Slater, you know the guy who’s been in and out of jail for assault (including assaulting his ex-GF), sexual harassment and drunk driving.
@Naya-Gandhi?
Nah. She sounds like she’s speaking the truth about her experience. She said that she felt compelled to say something because domestic violence is an important issue.
Jesus. It’s not on her to lie or keep silent–it’s on the public to understand that just because an abuser didn’t hit one woman does NOT mean he won’t hit the next. Winona dated JD for 4 years, she presumably doesn’t know Amber from Adam. Why are people surprised that she might feel some sort of residual loyalty to him, some need to say “this was not my experience, but that doesn’t mean it didn’t happen” ?
It’s not Winona’s fault that people approach DV like it’s a black and white issue. If Depp-supporters want to believe that because Wynona is saying that JD didn’t hit her that Amber must be lying, then that’s on them for being ignorant idiots.
I dont see how the quote Bethany is refering to would be about Christian Slater. She was with Christian for to quote her “two weeks” when she was 17. She met Johnny that same year and dated him until she was 21. She describes Johnny as her first real boyfriend. She even TMId about how she was a virgin in more ways than one. Heres a link with some of her quotes http://ohnotheydidnt.livejournal.com/99315509.html
She must be refering to Johnny in Bethannys quote.
Also, it IS her responsibility to look at the effect her words could have on another persons life. Not because she is a celebrity but because we all have that responsibility. We dont get to scream fire in a crowded theatre then tell those who are trampled on that its not our fault that everybody else was too dumb to know what we really meant. Any reasonable person would know how her meandering quote will be received and who it harms. And most reasonable peop,e would have passed on the question, its not like there was a gun to her head or she was under oath.
@Naya-I’m going to refer you to Noname’s comment below.
Also, I just completely disagree that Winona has any responsibility to stay silent on Amber’s behalf. Her responsibility is to tell her personal truth and to acknowledge the fact that it was only HER experience. She has ZERO obligation to advocate for Amber.
Winona staying silent would actually be a huge disservice for victims of abuse by perpetuating this fallacy that an abuser always abuses every woman that he is with. Opening up the conversation and allowing people to see that abusers aren’t necessarily abusive in every relationship they are in is a step in the right direction towards a more comprehensive understanding of DV.
If you are hoping for any kind of nuanced discussion on DV you are out of luck. And anybody with half a brain could have told her that. She knowingly threw chum in the water. She could have declined to comment or put the subject on her NO list. Ans we know she has had a NO list for years because nobody asks her about her spoilt girl pilfering ways.
She is no DV advocate. She is a woman who knowingly put another stumbling block before a DV victim because she really wants that comeback. What some women will do for a headline…
I remember reading a blind on how he pushed her thru a glass window or accidently shot her and she had to take pain meds, to which she ended up being addicted to hence her decades downward spiral. I am sad Winona doesnt speak up. Not that I dont think Amber knew that Johnny was unstable and could get some money out of him but 2 wrongs dont make a right. I know he was also horrible to his kids’ mom Vanessa Paradis. She was like the Britney (in her prime) of France and then disappeared after hooking up withDepp
When did she that?
Whatever you read online…she has just stated clearly that wasn’t her experience. You don’t have to invalidate her experience to believe Amber
This. You so effectively stated exactly how I feel.
Both, and some of this:
“And we have a lot of mutual friends.”
Present tense verb…pressure being applied with a little fiscal grease.
I thought that read pretty clearly that she meant she hasn’t heard anything through the grapevine.
“And we have a lot of mutual friends”. Yep, that’s what I thought. AND she’s trying to revive her career…says everything to me.
@ claire. Sure take it at face value if you will. It reads subtexty to me, like it is a slip/tell.
everybody wants something except Amber, right?
@Naya- She clearly states that it wasn’t her experience at all and that it was twenty years ago. I don’t find her quote to be meandering or harmful, she simply stated what her experience was and how she’s shocked. She did not say Amber was a liar or that she’s Team Depp.
She dated both Christian Slater and Johnny Depp in the 1988/1989 time frame for this quote. The quote sounds like she is referring to Slater more than Depp. Because she is referring to the smashing things as dramatic…..at 18 everything is dramatic.. we all know Depp was at least 26/27 when he started dating Winona and Christian Slater is only 2 years older than her.
Here is the quote..
The scene where I trash my dressing room was my last scene. I remember my first boyfriend used to smash everything – at 18 everything is dramatic. So I took an Evian bottle and tried to break it really meekly. I couldn’t do it and then he made fun of me. And even in that dressing room scene I was like, ‘Sorry! Sorry! Sorry!'”
She’s described Depp as her first boyfriend many times in the past and they were engaged 5 months after meeting each other when she was 18.
Are we really at the point where we are doubting that this quote describes Johnny Depp, a man who was actually arrested for trashing a hotel room in HIS THIRTIES? Really???
The bit where she says everything is so dramatic when you are 18 is obviously a reference to her own age at the time. And we really need to discuss Depps craddle robbing ways, wasnt Kate Moss also a teen when he sank his claws in?
Didn’t Natalie Portman once mention that Winona apologized to her for acting odd while filming a scene in Black Swan because she said it reminded her of her first boyfriend who used to throw things all the time (who was Johnny Depp?)
Other than that, I don’t really have an issue with what she is saying as she points out it was a very long time ago. She’s giving her personal experience but pointing out that it was two decades ago. Unfortunately, this will get spun as “Ryder defends Depp.”
@Div, who wrote: “Didn’t Natalie Portman once mention that Winona apologized to her for acting odd while filming a scene in Black Swan because she said it reminded her of her first boyfriend who used to throw things all the time (who was Johnny Depp?)”
Winona’s first celebrity boyfriend was Charlie Sheen. They met on the set of “Lucas” (1986) and date throughout that year (yes, she was only 15-years-old … but like Miley Cyrus, Winona was a ‘young’ sexual bloomer). She stared dating Johnny Depp in 1989.
Charlie Sheen (who was 21-years-old in 1986 and possibly 20 during filming) was a busy lad during the “Lucas” shoot. It’s rumored that he also ‘deflowered’ Corey Haim during the production as well.
Wait – Whaaat?
I think she’s referring to the rumor about pediphilia and sex abuse in the movie industry. There’s a rumor that Charlie was instructed to victimize Corey.
@Claire …
I don’t ever remember hearing that Charlie was ‘instructed’ to victimize Corey, just that he got Corey drunk/high one day and did it … and that everyone on the set knew about it.
I’ve read some of those connotations. The thinking on it being that there’s a whole cycle being perpetuated with threats and intimidation to continue, levels of power, etc., i.e., the powers that be(studio head honchos and such) victimizing Charlie, recruiting Charlie to victimize Corey, etc.
What???! Winona dated Charlie Sheen? Are you sure that’s true and not just a bunch of pap pics of them together with a bunch of other people and then gossip rags just accused them of dating? Has she come out and said she dated Charlie Sheen?
BTW – I kind of feel for Winona for being asked questions about JD now. But I think Winona answered the JD question truthfully, respectfully and acknowledged that her experience with JD was simply HER experience many, many years ago.
This comment kept getting blowing my mind. Winona dated Charlie Sheen?? Charlie Sheen did WHAT to WHOM??? OMG
I want to state again this this is a long-standing ‘rumor,’ though you can find it’s repetition in numerous places on the Internet in varied media sources. I first read it in the 1990’s and it seemed that the source was someone who was on the set during the filming of “Lucas” and close in age to Sheen and Haim Corey Feldman (Haim’s close friend) constantly brings up Charlie Sheen’s name when discussing Corey Haim, and not in a good way … but he stops short of any kind of accusation.
She’s said many times that her first boyfriend was Depp. That quote that she was talking about was her boyfriend trashing everything when she was 18. She met Depp at 17 they got engaged when she was 18.
@Claire …
It sounds a bit like you’re attempting to give Charlie Sheen a pass on his behavior when there has never been a story (at least one that I’ve heard or read) about him being abused in the Hollywood system. He wouldn’t have had to exchange favors as his Dad, Martin Sheen, was still a name in Hollywood when Charlie and his older brother Emilio were starting out in the business. I can try and find a source if you’d like, but by all reports Charlie Sheen was a self-entitled A-hole on the set of “Lucas” who took great delight in tormenting Corey Haim (who was younger, the same age as Winona, a bit dorky and desperately wanted to fit in with the cool, older dude) and ‘did the deed’ because he could and thought it was a great joke. At that time, Charlie was already ‘dating’ porn stars and was soon to become a name in Heidi Fleiss’s black book (the infamous L.A. Madame).
Thank you Emma. Charlie Sheen was and still a class A A-hole… only Bill Cosby is lower than him. He wasn’t abused, far from it. But he saw a younger kid who was struggling to fit in, had low self esteem and no one needed to instruct him to do anything.. Corey Haim was a lost soul who was victimized by Sheen and Hollywood. Sheen got away with it and now 20 years later, after Corey died, people are trying to reinvent this.
I feel sorry for her, getting pulled into this. Again-how long ago was that? People change. I suspect it will be spun to Depp’s benefit.
You don’t think people would come for Winona?
Did you SEE the way people came for Vanessa and Lily-Rose?
She handled that as delicately as she could. Very difficult position for her to be in and I actually applaud her for even talking about it, regardless of whether it helps Johnny.
Also, they were so damn hot together.
So hot! She always looked like she was carved out of a mixture of creamy butter and smooth marble. And all those lovely cheekbones on him. What a couple! How the mighty fell.
I think she handled this question with grace. I’m irritated on her behalf that she was put in a position of having to answer for a relationship from 20-years ago.
This was a thoughtful, carefully articulated response. No hate from me over it. I miss Winona.
Agreed. She was very careful only to speak to her own experience and not Amber’s.
Absolutely. Her statement and the missing.
Agreed, I thought she handled her response very well.
“I have never seen him be violent toward a person before. It’s just hard to picture. The only word I can come up with is unimaginable.”
but he is violent and winona knows this as well as everybody else. so why would she say that?
She specified “person”. That means she is not saying that he didn’t get violent with things. She’s just saying that he never directly abused her. Which actually is consistent with the iPhone throwing etc. as well as Depp’s hotel room trashing. In 20 years, a guy could get a lot closer to violence against “persons”, just by throwing things at them. She was careful to repeat that her experience with him was 20 years ago and that she’s just talking about her own experience with him.
Never abusive at all toward me…
…except for that time he shot me with that antique gun, but he was high and it was an accident, so that doesn’t really count.
So you just believe some blind article blindly (heh)? I think we should believe her word more.
Many people don’t consider “accidents” as “abuse,” so she may not be lying. I have nothing but love for her, but I still believe in people’s ability to live in denial.
That was Charlie Sheen and Kelly Preston
That was a different shooting. This was supposedly in a hotel and handled outside the hospital. Preston Sheen shooting was at their residence (also claimed as accident)
Tell me more about this please…
If you look through the revealed blind items on Crazy Days and Nights, you’ll find it. I’m not sure of the exact date, but it was revealed right around the time Amber filed for divorce.
CDAN is a fantasy. That dude just makes up random stuff. It’s been proven time and again. You gotta have better sources than that dude’s creative writing exercises.
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@ Melody I think the shooting accident happened between Mickey Rourke and his model girlfriend Carre Otis in the early 1990’s. She talked about it in her book ‘Beauty Disrupted’ (2011), see link: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-2047208/Carre-Otis-reveals-details-dangerous-romance-Mickey-Rourke.html
Their relationship, by the way, was a good example of how certain people can bring out the worst in each other.
Y’all are taking a LOT of rumor as fact.
I am sorry @Tealily, but the story about Mickey Rourke’s gun going off on Carre Otis, is her own. The Daily Mail article has excerpts from a book Carre Otis co-wrote herself with author Hugo Schwyzer. The book ‘Beauty, Disrupted’ came out in 2011. There is a link in my post. It doesn’t have anything to do with Depp and Ryder, but it is not just a rumor in this case.
I wasn’t referring to your post, Calcifer.
OK, thanks @tealily
Yeah – what the heck is this – a gossip site?
I think it was a great response and she sounds quite intelligent. I do not know much about her however.
I was expecting this to be a lot more problematic than it was. I still feel mixed feelings about ex-partners saying this sort of thing – because even though she was quite careful about what she said and how she said it – people are going to chalk this up as “Oh he didn’t abuse her either – Amber’s lying” even if that’s not her intention at all.
I kind of wish she’d said something like “Our relationship was decades ago, and this was not the JD that I knew. However, we as humans need to take this kind of allegation seriously because millions of women are shut down every time they try to bring abuse claims forward. While my experience with Johnny was perfectly normal, I can’t comment on his relationship with Amber”.
But again – her wording wasn’t hugely problematic or anything, the issue is going to be what people read it as.
I agree with you. I have said before that my ex husband was not physically abusive towards me for a long time – six or seven years, but as alcoholism destroyed his mind and soul, he eventually became so. I don’t believe he was ever abusive to former girlfriends. So I believe the exes and I believe Amber, too. I wish she had said something along the lines of what you wrote, but I also acknowledge that she’s in a very sticky situation. And this comes from someone who doesn’t like her that much.
Yeah, I agree. I wish nobody would even ask her or Vanessa or Kate. It has nothing to do with what’s happened to Amber Heard but asking them implies that it does.
Good point.
Agree with all.
i think that is well said. She acknowledges their relationship was a long time ago, that it was significant to her and repeats that she can only speak about her own experiences. thats all she can say if she has to say anything about it and I think she responded well to the question.
Thank you for posting her whole comment about the situation. She sounds like she really thought about this.
I don’t doubt her in the slightest, but that doesn’t change how I feel. Team Amber all the way. (& that’s coming from a 20+ year Johnny fan that NEVER would have been Team Amber a year ago. He has changed by being so insulated from the real world by his Hollywood Handlers. Get sober Johnny & get some help.)
I didn’t have an issue, then I did. Then, I didn’t. So issue #1: She’s rambling. Issue #2: It comes off as defense of him, but then it doesn’t, mostly because of length. I wish she would have kept it short and said something to the tune of: “We dated decades ago. He was never abusive towards me and it’s hard to reconcile current reports with what I know of him. That being said, again, we dated years ago.”
But overall, I like what she said and appreciate her tone (I’m just impatient). It did come off as thoughtful. I can see how this weighs on her and that she sees the situation as complex.
aw she is such a sweetheart, with great talent and she still looks fab.
Kate Moss does not talk, but she will be on his side, she adored Depp.
I do believe Ryder, I doubt she would say something for the money or publicity. People say that she said her first boyfriend was abusive, but that does not mean it was Depp. She dated before him… Slater for one, Rob Lowe…
Yes Christian Slater was my assumption.
I just cannot believe that people are already accusing Ryder of lying. There’s no way that she’s going to contradict herself like that, not on something this big, not on something that can easily be disproven via prior interviews. Her handlers wouldn’t let her talk about this if she had already claimed abuse by Depp, as some are insinuating.
It almost doesn’t matter what she says, because many people will still insist that she’s lying.
It’s infuriating and so, SO damaging to abuse victims. The more people acknowledge the complexity of domestic abuse (this means ACCEPTING that just because an abuser didn’t hit one woman DOES NOT mean that he won’t hit another) the greater strides we make towards understanding how women find themselves trapped in this dynamic.
I cannot emphasize enough how disturbed I am by people’s inability to believe women, whether it’s Amber, Vanessa, or Wynona.
There’s also what different people consider abuse. As far as I know she’s talked about an ex who yelled and threw things, not actually said that person was abusive. It might have been Depp. It might have been Slater. She may not consider that abuse, even though it may have frightened her.
The relationship was so long ago that time may have softened her memories of him. We tend to remember the good times and the bad fades, and two decades is plenty long enough for nostalgia.
And then there’s the statement “never seen him be violent towards a person”. That doesn’t mean he didn’t throw things at the wall or smash objects in anger. Many people don’t consider that anything other than “he got really mad”, and certainly not abuse.
Yes very true but none of those possibilities automatically contradict or discount what she’s saying here.
No, they don’t. And Depp may well have been perfectly nice and not ragey at all around her. I’m just pointing out that these apparent contradictions aren’t necessarily contradictions at all.
I’m inclined to believe that he was 99% lovely to her and maybe they had a few fights that got scary but nothing approaching what she would consider abusive. I don’t think he ever touched her or was aggressive towards her at all. Maybe just yelled a bunch or broke something. Nothing approaching what he did to Amber. I do believe her when she says it’s hard to wrap her head around it because it’s not the man she knew.
“I do believe her when she says it’s hard to wrap her head around it because it’s not the man she knew.”
I’m just thinking of how I would feel if a woman said she was abused by my ex. I would be FLOORED. I mean…I think it would level me–my whole world would be turned upside-down and everything I believe would be challenged, including my sense of judgment and intuition, which is something I am very proud of.
I would absolutely feel compelled to say that this was not my experience with him and that I’m shocked to hear that he has changed so much. Basically, what Winona said.
Yeah, I would be floored too if something like this came out against my first serious bf. All I could think to say would be, “wow if that’s true he really has changed”. And I would be very cautious about misremembering things either to go along with the new narrative or to discredit it. I can’t stand people who “knew it all along” in hindsight and twist things to fit their new idea of a person. But it can be very tempting to second guess yourself and read too much into certain memories, for better or worse.
This. She’s always said Depp was her first big love. That’s not remotely the same as the first guy you date or the first guy you think you’re in love with. She had partners before Depp, all of whom were quite messed up at the time.
why does she sound so scared to say something? it sounds more she is afraid of people pointing out problematic stuff. idk why she has a problem with that or is afraid of that.
see commenters above.
and below.
that is likely why she was nervous about saying or trying to articulate anything.
she likely knows it will be spun in a million different directions, and she is going to be accused of supporting abusers OR calling out liars.
she couldn’t win in any scenario, anyway.
(i am not calling jd an abuser. i am not calling ah a liar.
fwiw: i agree with kitten. you can not be abusive to someone and be abusive to others.
not sure why folks seem to think everything is so cut and dried, or one dimensional???
Because the internet will bully and harass her? I’d be scared too. The internet culture is psychotic at times. Some people really don’t want to be in the eye of that tornado. It doesn’t matter if it’s her truth; people will act like psychos.
She is saying that twenty years and tons of drugs can change a person, at least that’s what I’m hearing. Personally, I believe everything Amber Heard says – because Depp is quite obviously a long-time alcohol- and probably drug-addict, and anyone who has ever had to do with addicts can verify that – whatever they were before, however loving and caring and honest and whatever – cannot be relied on anymore after they have become addicts. Oh, and also, addicts lie like, well, professional liars – so why are we even talking about believing Depp? He is an ADDICT. Unless he can prove that he isn’t, no one should believe a word he says.
Yeah, it’s so hard for me to understand why people believe him over her. He is quite obviously an addict.
I think what she said is the best she could have- she didn’t disparage anyone, didn’t call Amber a liar, didn’t get mad at the interviewer, and didn’t dismiss the seriousness of DV. She made it clear she was only speaking to her own experience, and that it was a long time ago.
No one would want to be put in that position, but I think she handled it very well.
I think she said all she could, as well as she could have.
–TheRealPinky
Jesus. Just him dating her at 26 to her 16 is a red flag. Of course, as a kid, I thought she was so lucky.
Right???
I had no idea that the age difference was that dramatic between the two. Really gross…..REALLY gross.
Eight years difference, not ten. I thought she was 18 when they started. As an 18 yo college sophomore I was asked out by a 25 yo grad assistant and I thought “Eeeww, old codger!” Of course, you probably grow up faster in Hollywood.
That’s slightly less awful but still…
She was 17 when they met and he was 26. His daughter started dating a man at 16 who’s 24 and a divorced father!? So obviously good choices don’t run in that family.
I was 19 when I started dating my 26 years old first boyfriend and I have to agree that the age difference was crucial in our relationship.
I appreciate that she said she is only talking about her life experience with Johnny. Just as Amber is talking about hers
We see this all the time. You can have someone that is sweet and kind to their friends then goes home and beats their wives and kids. OR a parent that is abusive to one child and loving to the other. People are different things to different people in different circumstances and times in their lives. Was he on drugs and alcohol when he was with her. Because his relationship with Kate sounded quite different. Maybe it is an alternate thing.. Kate and Amber got the abusive and crazy Johnny.. Winona and Vanessa got the sweet guy who was trying to be healthy.
I still think Amber is telling the truth.. and so are the supporters. They are talking about what they experienced. It doesn’t mean that Amber is a liar.
👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾 Yes. I believe the exes and Amber.
I know. Why is it so hard for people to believe that Johnny may have only abused Amber? I realize abusers may have a pattern in their life of abusing, but still some don’t. Also, the little legitimate information we have from Amber, court related info not gossip mags, seems to infer that he is mostly abusive when he is high or drunk. Maybe he is using different drugs now, or more who knows. This is only one reason why his past just as hers is really not very consequential in determining his guilt, but again good for gossip. I feel like Winona handled it best as she could considering how long ago she was close to him.
“People are different things to different people in different circumstances and times in their lives.”
100+
She covers herself well by saying that people can change. She said enough and in a classy way…you can only respect that.
I don’t think Depp abused Moss either. Or at least if he did, I doubt she will ever admit to it. His exes will defend him. My issue is that we’ve been trying to use his past to verify if he is an abuser because people strongly believe that a person has to be abusive to many for them to be abusive to one. You can only rely on the evidence Amber has given. Unfortunately, she is very alone. The burden of proof is on her and what she has released is simply not good enough.
What? She still has more evidence that we haven’t seen + sworn statements from witnesses,and VERIFIED text messages. She was about to testify in court a week and a half ago with more evidence I’m sure but Depp’s lawyer stopped it.
Perfectly answered, in my opinion. I imagine it must have been hard for her to hear about what happened (though obviously not nearly as much as it was for Amber). Anyways, in a lighter note, I hope her show does well!
She should have just left it at “And it’s been a very long time.”
Nothing excuses his behavior, but he’s obviously strung out on Meth, his physical deterioration isn’t just aging. Drug addicts vacillate between Jekyl and Hyde relationships all the time.
And after twenty years he could very well be a completely different person than he was with her. All she can speak to is her own experience.
I don’t think she said anything wrong. She was asked and she gave a genuine thoughtful answer. She is making clear that her experience doesn’t define all of Johnny’s relationships. I wish reporters and interviewers would stop asking what Johnny’s friends and exes think about the whole thing, because they’re being put in an awful position where they’re damned if they do and damned if they don’t. Nothing they could say aside from “yep! He’s abusive as all get out” is going to gel well with people.
Honestly, I understand where she is coming from and I don’t necessarily think she’s pressured bc they have mutual friends or are in the business together or that it did so happen to her but she didn’t recognize it. No. I beleive she’s never seen that side of him. That doesn’t mean that side doesn’t exist but people are different with different people and he was in a different time in his life. When he was with Winona, he wasn’t drugging yet and he wasn’t trying to be the bad ass rock star he’s beeing trying to be since he’s been with Amber. He’s older, has more responsibilities, has drug and booze issues, recently divorced, etc. so many things that are different in his life now and not for the better. Winona doesn’t owe us any kind of confirmation that Depp is abusive and if she hasn’t seen it herself, do we want her to lie just to satisfy our mob mentality?
My sister is a violent alcoholic. She has smashed her house, everything in it, stabbed a boyfriend, tried to run down a boyfriend, been emotionally and verbally abusive with her kids, neglected them, you name it….and yet….I have never EVER witnessed one instance of this violence. I beleive it’s there and I know my nieces and nephews weren’t/aren’t lying, but for the life of me, even though the proof is there in their eyes and words, I cannot picture my sister doing these things because I have never seen that side of her. I can’t imagine her being that kind of person. I can’t picture the facial expressions or how she’d be moving in those instances. I just can’t see her doing that, even though I know she does do that.
Just FYI, JD’s been doing drugs since he was 14 years old.
I’m sorry about your sister. My sister is mentally ill and it’s tough. I love her but have to protect myself from her somewhat. I hope you have other family you can count on, though it sounds as if she is nice to you, at least.
Ughh nothing I hate more than when people say “but they’re nice to me”. I have a family member who is a real monster (he married into our family). Our extended relatives think he’s an angel and refuse to believe us when we tell them what a piece of sh*t he really is. Makes me so mad, but then I realize that the truth will come out at some point. People’s true colors always show no matter how hard they try to hide them to some people.
Why is it so hard for people to believe his ex partners. 3 of them had said they never experienced this with him.
I just don’t think people understand how substance abuse can be a big factor in abusive relationships. It seemed as if during his relationship with Heard he was spiralling out of control. Even heard herself points to his addiction as a cause of his behaviour.
I had a five year bf who never did anything physical to me except around the end of our relationship when he was definitely becoming an even worse alcoholic than usual. He yanked me aggressively inside a room and it freaked me out.
But besides that incident, I would describe him as nurturing, caring and sweet, even when he was drunk. Everyone would.
But. He had punched his ex-wife in the face. He told me, a few years into our relationship he told me. He regretted it.
And, half a year after we broke up, he slapped a woman at a party repeatedly, and for no reason except he was drunk. He also told me this.
I think people can indeed be abusive toward some but not all.
I’m not mad at Winona. Paradis I actually admire alot but I was not happy with her statement.
She called the allegations “outrageous ” which to me implies “false “. Winona though, is clear to speak carefully. No shade.
I second this. Winona talked from her experience (and I believe her) but she wasn’t mean towards Amber. She could have declined the answer and she did not. Good for her.
She’s writing like a love sick teenager which she pretty much was when she was with him. If the nice gentlemen down the street was to harm his wife, my first thought wouldn’t be well he was so nice to me. One can’t assume because when they had their own relationship with an accused abuser, that they couldn’t be capable of it. All Ted Bundy’s friends thought he was the nicest guy in the world. So girls and boys, our instincts certainly aren’t always correct…….since Johnny is accused and hasn’t been charged, I will wait to see what the law decides before judging…….you know like how OJ was found innocent and all that and Woody Allen is beloved by a certain element of Hollywood as well as Polanski. And there’s Robert Blake……sigh
I love her response and I completely believe her. People aren’t black and white, why do some have difficulty wrapping their heads around this?
I believe Johnny never treated anyone the way he treated Amber. I mean all of us belittled her, made fun of her and ridiculed their entire relationship. She was the homewrecker, the golddigger, the shallow untalented wannabe. She was never equal to him in terms of power, career, money, age, connections, importance, experience. She was a silly young beautiful nobody. And he hit midlife crisis, his marriage (and I call it marriage because that’s what he and Vanessa had in my opinion) fell apart.
But I bet he never viewed her or respected her the way he did Vanessa or Winona. Maybe he even doubted her love and her motive for staying with him. It’s not far-fetched, I mean a young gorgeous nobody who is not likely to make it big on her own (and who honestly doesn’t have any real acting talent) is suddenly blowing off her longtime GIRLFRIEND, and saying she wants to be with a guy 23 years her senior. WE WERE ALL SKEPTICAL and I’m sure so was he. And I’m sure he indulged in alcohol and drugs and unleashed his dissatisfaction with his own life and choices on her.
I can see that, as I can see him never abusing his other exes. Both can be true and both isn’t far-fetched.
I’m not excusing him mind you, I’m just saying don’t view people black and white and don’t call someone a liar because you might not like what they say.
“People aren’t black and white, why do some have difficulty wrapping their heads around this?”
A question I ask myself every day. If you ever find the answer, please let me know.
If you get an answer Kitten, please print in all caps and bold.
Amber had only BOYFRIENDS before one girlfriend according to her. They just broke up and moved on like Depp and Paradis did.
A.Key–Yes, you are sort of excusing him, as you are pointing out what you believe to be Amber’s negative attributes, and stating that his other former partners were more of his “caliber”–age-wise, talent wise, in the true depth of their love for Johnny, etc.—like it was AMBER who might be at fault for, somehow, “causing” him to be abusive. Sorry, but Amber’s “not loving Johnny” —and you are REALLY wildly guessing here–has NOTHING to do w excusing Depp’s abusiveness towards her, NOTHING. You seem to be implying that Amber is a lesser person than his other former girlfriends, as though that would lead to his frustration and intensified addictions, and, from there, would cause him to abuse her. I disapprove of your apparent implications immensely.
Yes exactly what I thought after reading this junk! Clearly @A.Key isn’t a fan of Amber’s and is badmouthing her because she never liked her. That has nothing to do with physical abuse.
Actually, I don’t get an excuse vibe from this,; to me, it reads like a fairly decent hypothesis as to the *why* with this relationship and not with the others. Mid-life crisis + addiction paranoia = magnification of insecurity and wholesale suspicion and disdain for the person most easily overpowered around him at this time, which very unfortunately would be Amber.
Understanding the reason for something is a very different thing from validating that reason or accepting it as an excuse. We can all understand the reasons terrorists or mass murderers do what they do while simultaneously rejecting that those reasons give any validity whatsoever to entirely unforgivable actions. This read to me like a milder version of that.
Now I might be giving a generous reading to the comment, but I think this is just speculation on why JD would snap with *this one*, not that he had valid reason to. I know it’s a subtle distinction, and maybe it’s not even there. The truth is, though, ALL abusers can give you reasons or justification for their actions – -it’s a big component of the psyche that makes abuse possible- -but NO reason is ever gonna work as an excuse.
Well thanks for reading my junk anyway!
No, I’m not a fan of Amber – why is that important? I believe her and believe she’s the victim. But no, I don’t like her movies and find her acting skills to be poor and uninteresting. I’m also sorry that this happened to her. But I’m not gonna start praising her work and life just because of this, that’s absurd. This won’t define her and I’m not letting this define how I view her.
Also I was trying to guess and explain Depp’s (conjecture) and the gossip media’s point of view and then offer a possibly layered and not one-dimensional hypothesis on how and why this might have happened.
What bothers me most is this fascist atmosphere of intolerance that is everywhere these days. Either you agree with the majority’s point of view or you get stoned. Jesus, sick of humanity on so many levels.
@A.Key nobody’s asking you to praise her work just because she’s been abused. If you’re not a fan then great! Why are you even watching her movies if you think she’s a poor actress?🙄🙄
I think it is the best answer she could give. She wants to defend him because she had good times with him and he treated her well, but she understands that in defending him she would be interpreted as calling Amber a liar. It is a difficult line to toe but I think she did it well. She can’t just say “He never abused me” without it being taken as attacking Amber, and she can’t say “No comment” without it being implied she was abused. So she answers with as much nuance as possible.
I like her and always have. I hope no one has a problem with her statement, she’s making it clear this was her experience, and it was a very, very long time ago. I believe Amber, and I also believe Winona.
Speaking of a long time ago…random Winona story. I was lucky enough to attend the premiere of “Romeo & Juliet” (Leo sat directly behind me with his date, some chick that ended up dating Nicholas Cage for a bit). I didn’t care about Leo. I was mesmerized by Winona. She was pretty far away but I had a direct line of sight. She was standing up before the movie, talking to people. I couldn’t take my eyes off of her. She was so beautiful! I kept staring and staring, and she caught my eye. More than once hahaha. Probably because I looked like a crazed stalker. Anyway I distinctly remember her finally giving me a dirty look, which put me in my place. I’m sure she was thinking “why is this girl staring at me!!!” LOL. I just took quick peaks at her until the movie started. She was my total girl crush and I meant no harm. She was just so stunningly beautiful, I couldn’t stop staring 🙂
I believe her and his othe exes and I also believe Amber.But she did say it was a long time ago more than once. Which means- I knew him back then and he was okay but now who knows? What his exes fail to bring up is the fact that long term substance abuse (which he called self medication) can damage the brain and change a person over decades of abuse.He was sweet and gentle with them while not high and drunk,but that addiction has finally taken it’s toll and brought out the worst in him.And never mind the self admitted “Hellish temper” and “Hillbilly rage” that he already had without the addictions.
Winona is silly, though. The only one who will be getting vitriol as a result of her statement is Amber, as this is being spinned to depict Amber as a liar. Amber is not respected nor liked. This was true even before she accused her husband of abuse.
I don’t have any sympathy for Johnny. He has the resources to protect himself and Amber does not. I would rather Amber file a police report. She is in this alone.
I feel for her for being in this position, and I respect her for answering in the best way she could given the circumstances. I know I’m being a romantic, but they say your first real love never truly fades away. I read that as a woman who was trying not to cast doubt on the victim while expressing her shock at the loss of the man she loves. I do think she still loves the Johnny he was when they were together (and I agree with Kitten, they were SO hot together), but she’s starting to realize that that man is gone. How utterly heartbreaking that must be. This is a very complicated, nuanced situation that cannot be treated as anything but.
Had a comment but the internet ate it.
I’ve always liked her but this smacks way too much of “well I couldn’t possibly say, this certainly wasn’t my experience” friends covering each other’s ass speak. It’s completely WRONG in this case for her to say anything. It’s a serious legal matter in the court system. Amber has been put through hell already. Winona should have deferred to this being a legal matter and she prefers to respect the legal system, and I’d still respect her if she had. As it stands now, this was way too gossipy laden and extended a comment for me to say “all’s fair”.
Very disappointed in her. No hate for her. But just indifferent to her now. I was rooting for her too. Makes me sad to realize she’s… this kind of “who you know…. i’ll scratch your back” airhead. Always thought she had integrity.
Maybe Winona is just an idiot after all. Huh.
She answered this to the best of her ability. I feel bad that she felt the need to explain herself to such an extent, but understand why, and the way she explained it was smart. She spoke of only her own experience and how she’s shocked to hear he could’ve changed, but isn’t denying that a person CAN change over the course of 20 years.
I believe both Winona and Amber. Depp seems like he was once a good man who was swallowed by drugs and alcohol. My heart hurts for Amber and the nonsense she has endured lately.
I think Winona has no choice in the matter. She has to toe the line. It is a shame.
I hate people are claiming that Depp was abusive to Amber simply because of drugs and alcohol. An abuser is an abuser. Drugs and alcohol are not an excuse, even if Amber is claiming that it is. I am sure Kate Moss will claim Depp did not abuse her. He was a substance abuser when he was with her. So what then?
In my opinion, Depp did not abuse Amber because of drugs and alcohol. He did it because he always saw her as an object, a possession, a prize that is nice to look at, and never had any respect for her. In an essence, he dehumanized her. Supposedly, Depp was lovesick and Amber had him under her thumb by abusing him. Yet Depp has no problem with his friends and family treating her like absolute trash. The way his friends talk about her is absolutely disgusting and misogynistic. Stanhope even referred to her as a “demon,” which strips her of all personhood. On the other hand, Amber would never support her friends speaking of him like that. Her friends 100% believe he abused her since they have seen the outcome of him physically harming her. Yet their testimonies are not inflammatory. Depp’s friends claim she is this demented, soulless hyena, but then I have to ask: why was Depp so interested in her? Per Depp’s own words, he met her, couldn’t stop thinking about her, and tracked her down. He pursued her.
On the other hand, I think Amber has many issues and they are bad enough that people can simply dismiss her and buy into this one-dimensional characterization of her as Medusa. In many ways, she is a perfect victim for people like Depp because of her “bad character.” No one is willing to believe her. He would have to murder her before anyone would take her allegations seriously. I also think she handled this poorly. She should have filed a police report.
A police report so that he can get a slap on the wrist? I think she wants him to get help not get charged.
Totally agree! I also think he viewed her as a pretty possession and he didn’t respect her like he did his other exes. I tried to write something similar before, but you explained it so much better.
She signed my green pigskin Doc Martens when i was backstage at a Soul Asylum concert and she was so adorable… she thought i was nuts for asking her to do it, and she was all hesitant and didnt wanna f&ck up my cool shoes! it was sweet … in the end she did sign one, and wrote her name in a little circle right at the ankle area, so it ended up looking kinda like a logo or something.
So fun.
She was super kind…
And i was WAY more into her than the band i can tell you.
She was my girl-crush for sure.
I LOVE that story! Thanks for sharing. She was and still is my girl crush.
They were gorgeous, the real zeitgeist of the 90s. And she was fabulous in the Scorsese film of _Age of Innocence_. I wish her well AND I’m also glad to see her coming back from that terrible shoplifting scandal that really compromised a brilliant career.
Um, the shoplifting wasn’t just an impulsive grab of a candy bar off the counter by a ten year old. She came well prepared to steal and was leaving with quite a haul. Any effect on her career was self-inflicted. She doesn’t seem to think she really did anything wrong, hence the “misunderstanding” spin she seems to give it. We’ve often heard the same from that other well known thief, Lindsay Lohan.
Shoplifters typically steal dozens of times before they are caught, and they don’t start out with the special equipment she was using or the type and number of items she was taking. The odds are enormous that she had stolen from stores many times before. If she hasn’t dealt with the underlying issues that got her to that point, it won’t matter how talented or how beautiful she is. She will tank her own career again if she gets caught again, and I imagine merchants are watching her closely now (as the smart ones do with Lindsay Lohan).