Johnny Depp And Amber Heard Divorce: Lily-Rose Depp Defends Dad Amid Domestic Abuse Claims As His Film Flops
Johnny Depp and his estranged wife, Amber Heard, have divided their friends, family, and fans into two camps, with each side firing accusations, while defending the chosen celebrity. And among those supporting Johnny, his daughter Lily-Rose has been particularly vocal, noted Vanity Fair.
Soon after Amber filed for divorce, a rep for Depp responded.
“Given the brevity of this marriage and the most recent and tragic loss of his mother, Johnny will not respond to any of the salacious false stories, gossip, misinformation and lies about his personal life,” emphasized the actor’s representative. “Hopefully the dissolution of this short marriage will be resolved quickly.”
Among those “stories” were accusations from Heard of domestic abuse, and her photos documenting bruises resulted in a restraining order.
In response, his daughter Lily-Rose shared her love and support for her father.
“My dad is the sweetest most loving person I know, he’s been nothing but a wonderful father to my little brother and I, and everyone who knows him would say the same,” wrote Lily-Rose.
Lily-Rose’s mother is the actor’s former wife, Vanessa Paradis. She also defended Depp, calling him a “sensitive, loving and loved person.”
But a source told People that the relationship has been problematic for both sides prior to Amber’s decision to file for divorce.
Depp feels “very insecure” about his estranged wife, and she triggers “jealousy issues,” according to that insider.
In court papers, Heard described domestic violence that included getting hit with a cell phone and having her hair pulled. The 30-year-old received the temporary restraining order following her claims against the 52-year-old actor, which included not just recent abuse, but repeated violence during their relationship of four years and marriage of 15 months.
“After the recent drama, people close to Johnny feel a divorce is the best outcome. Johnny and Amber should not be married.”
Amid the drama, Depp rocked out on stage in Germany. He was supported by his band, with Alice Cooper and Joe Perry performing as well. The actor/musician also put on a show with his band at the Rock in Rio festival in Lisbon, Portugal. An individual who attended the concert felt that the problems in Johnny’s marriage had not affected his performance.
“He played a really good gig. It was like the events of the week hadn’t played a part at all,” commented the eyewitness to People.
But while the domestic abuse allegations did not seem to impact his musical abilities, his film suffered. Depp’s Alice Through the Looking Glass flopped during the Memorial Day weekend, according to NBC News.
Alice Through the Looking Glass took in $28.1 million through Sunday in theaters in North America, compared to X-Men: Apocalypse, which trounced Alice with about $65 million.
Critics also were not impressed with the visions in that Looking Glass, but the question was how much Heard’s allegations of domestic abuse impacted box office success. The film was showing in theaters at the same time as Amber received the restraining order against the movie’s star. Some urged that audiences boycott Alice Through the Looking Glass.
However, quantifying the aftermath of the news about Depp’s marriage problems was challenging, pointed out Paul Dergarabedian, senior media analyst for comScore. Alice cost $170 million to produce, and Disney estimated that the movie would gross $35.6 million during the holiday weekend.
Is Depp to blame for the contrast between the sequel and Alice in Wonderland, which made more than $1 billion worldwide in 2010?
“It’s a disappointing result,” admitted Disney distribution chief Dave Hollis, without mentioning the embattled actor directly. “We have embarked on a branded tent-pole strategy that makes big bets. But when you make big bets, there are times when you have results that are disappointing.”
[Photo by Jason Merritt/Getty Images]
