Winona Ryder Defends Johnny Depp As A ‘Loving, Caring Guy’


Ever since Amber Heard first made allegations of domestic abuse against estranged husband Johnny Depp, the Pirates of the Caribbean actor’s ex-lovers and family members have been jumping to his defense, all of whom have described Johnny as nothing but loving. Now, actress and Depp’s ex-fiancee, Winona Ryder, is adding her voice to that list of women, which also includes ex-wife Vanessa Paradis and daughter, Lily-Rose Melody Depp. Ryder asserts that she has never known Depp to have been even remotely abusive towards her.

Edward Scissorhands Actress Winona Ryder Describes Johnny Depp As So Many Others Have Known Him

Winona Ryder has known Johnny Depp for many, many years. The pair worked together on Edward Scissorhands (1990) and subsequently dated for a period of time in the 90s. While the romance did fail eventually, Ryder and Depp were, at one time, engaged to be married, so it would seem Winona knows Johnny as well as most of his friends and colleagues. Seeing the current troubles Johnny is experiencing in his divorce from Amber Heard, Ryder has felt compelled to step up and add her voice to the chorus of women jumping to Johnny’s defense.

“I can only speak from my own experience, which was wildly different than what is being said,” says Ms. Ryder. “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.”

Winona admits that time has passed since she and Depp had been involved, and she adds that she can’t speak to the truthfulness or the dishonesty of Amber Heard’s claims that Johnny has been abusive toward her over the past four years, but Ryder does say she just finds it difficult to accept.

“I’m not calling anyone a liar,” the Beetlejuice actress said. “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.”

Thinking back to that earlier time in her life, Ryder says she still finds it shocking.

“Imagine if someone you dated when you were – I was 17 when I met him – was accused of that. It’s just shocking.”

Disney CEO Says Amber Heard Claims Of Abuse Won’t Affect Future Johnny Depp Projects

The Pirates of the Caribbean franchise is a big draw for Disney and the company’s CEO, Bob Iger, isn’t about to jeopardize that, even in the face of Johnny Depp’s public and controversial divorce from Amber Heard. In fact, the Disney CEO states boldly that he’s not at all worried about the impact of Amber’s claims on Johnny’s reputation or on the Pirates franchise. Iger hasn’t even discontinued the Pirates of the Caribbean attractions at Disney’s amusement parks.

From Iger’s point of view, Johnny Depp is entirely different from Jack Sparrow, and Disney Studios owns Jack Sparrow. As long as Depp is willing to step in and play Sparrow, there will always be a place for him in the Disney films, suggests Iger. Speaking in a more general sense, the Disney CEO puts his thoughts in perspective by not dwelling on that which takes place outside of his field of influence.

“I speak for Disney. I’ve seen people in the industry come to work every morning paranoid about what the other person or other company is doing. That means you’re spending time and focus on somebody else’s business instead of your own.”

The divorce between Amber Heard and Johnny Depp may be impacting each of them differently, but it seems that the entertainment industry is content to let the former couple hash things out themselves. In the meantime, it’s business as usual at studios like Disney.

[Image by Brian Killian/Getty Images]

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