Paul Bettany opened up in a recent interview with The Times about the public’s misconception about his relationship with Johnny Depp after text messages between the two actors were used in court during Depp’s defamation trial against The Sun.
“I hadn’t spoken to Johnny in years when this happened and I haven’t spoken to him since. I was described as close friends with a guy I hadn’t spoken to in years and, honestly, amidst all the crap two celebrities were throwing at each other, that moment was the strangest,” Paul told the publication.
“So I decided not to say anything because, I think, people know me,” he continued. “I’ve been married for 23 years and, for what I do, I live an incredibly quiet life. Everyone thought it was probably a nothing burger – and left it alone.”
In 2013, a controversial text exchange between Depp and Bettany became public when it was read at a trial hearing in February 2020. “Let’s burn Amber!!!” wrote Depp, to which Bettany responded: “After thinking about it, I don’t think we should burn Amber – she’s pleasant company and easy on the eyes, plus I’m not sure she’s a witch. We could of course try the English course of action in these difficult situations – we’re doing a drowning test. Any thoughts?” Depp responded that they should “drown her before they burn her!!! I’ll fuck her burned corpse afterwards to make sure she’s dead.”
The two actors have worked together on several films, including 2010’s “The Tourist,” 2014’s “Transcendence” and 2015’s “Mortdecai.”
Depp first sued News Group Newspapers (NGN) (which publishes The Sun) for defamation after publishing an article titled “Gone Potty – How can JK Rowling be ‘really happy’ about casting Johnny Depp, her wife’s beater, in the new ‘Fantastic Beasts’ film?” Depp alleged that the article “caused serious harm to (his) personal and professional reputation” and also caused him “significant distress and embarrassment”. In 2020, Judge Andrew Nicol ruled against Depp.
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