Johnny Depp recalls being ‘dumped’ by Hollywood amid Amber Heard fallout

Johnny Depp has spoken about his turbulent upbringing and painful fall from grace, saying he was ‘dumped’ by Hollywood during the height of his legal battle with ex-wife Amber Heard.

In an interview, the 62-year-old actor, best known for his role in Pirates of the Caribbean, revealed details of the abuse he endured as a child at the hands of his late mother, Betty Sue Palmer, describing her as volatile and violent.

“She beat me with a stick, a shoe, an ashtray, a phone. It didn’t matter,” he told The Telegraph. “But I thank her for that. She taught me how not to raise kids.”

Depp, who shares two children with French singer Vanessa Paradis, said that despite the violence, the emotional scars were worse.

“The psychological abuse was almost worse than the beatings. The beatings were just physical pain. The verbal abuse… that stays with you.”

The Hollywood icon also opened up about the fallout from his contentious relationship with Amber Heard, 39, who accused him of abuse.

During the highly publicised 2022 defamation trial in Virginia, both aired allegations of misconduct, shaking their careers and public reputations.

Following the accusations, Depp was dropped from major projects, including the Fantastic Beasts franchise, despite already filming a scene as Grindelwald.

“It literally stopped in a millisecond,” he recalled. “They said, ‘We’d like you to resign.’ But what was really in my head was they wanted me to retire.

The actor also expressed disappointment over being deserted by people close to him during the storm, including three longtime friends who, he claimed, had attended his children's birthday parties.

“I was a crash test dummy for the #MeToo movement,” he said. “There are people – and I’m thinking of three – who did me dirty. And, look, I understand people who couldn’t stand up for me. Making the right choice was frightening for them.”

Depp previously said that loyalty is paramount to him, which made the betrayal from his former agent of 30 years, Tracey Jacobs, who testified against him, all the more painful.

“My loyalty is the last thing anybody could question,” he added.

Despite being axed from roles and abandoned by some friends, Depp says he feels at peace now. After the jury ruled in his favor in the defamation trial against Heard, he stated:

“The jury gave me my life back. I feel at peace knowing I have finally accomplished that.”

Since the trial, Heard has relocated to Spain, where she now raises her children out of the spotlight. Depp, meanwhile, has slowly made his way back into the industry, appearing in Jeanne du Barry (2023), signalling a quiet but determined return to form.