Winona Ryder defends ex Johnny Depp in sworn statement

Winona Ryder is standing by her (ex) man. The actor has given a sworn deposition via a statement filed in a US court detailing her time in a romantic relationship with actor Johnny Depp, who has been accused by his ex-wife Amber Heard of being verbally and physically abusive. In her statement, Ryder, who was engaged to Depp for three years, said the actor was never violent with her.

In the court files obtained by various news sources, including The Blast, Winona says that the Johnny she knew during their four years together was kind and gentle. Meeting at the premiere of Great Balls of Fire in 1989, which in retrospect is inappropriately ironic, the pair began dating shortly after when Ryder was only 17 and Depp was 26 and already divorced. The couple got engaged in 1990 when they starred in Edward Scissorhands together and Depp famously tattooed ‘Winona Forever’ on his arm, later changing it to ‘Wino Forever’ after the couple broke up in 1993.

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“I count our relationship as one of the more significant relationships of my life,” wrote Ryder in her legal statement. “I understand that it is very important that I speak from my own experience.”

Saying that Depp was never violent or abusive towards her, Ryder continues, writing “I obviously was not there during his marriage to Amber, but, from my experience, which was so wildly different, I was absolutely shocked, confused and upset when I heard the accusations against him. The idea that he is an incredibly violent person is the farthest thing from the Johnny I knew and loved. I cannot wrap my head around these accusations.”

Depp began dating actor Amber Heard in 2012 and the pair were married in 2015, splitting only one year later. Heard obtained a restraining order against Depp following their separation, telling the court that Depp had been physically and verbally abusive throughout the marriage.

“I truly and honestly only know him as a really good man – an incredibly loving, extremely caring guy who was so very protective of me and the people that he loves, and I felt so very, very safe with him,” writes Ryder. “I do not want to call anyone a liar but from my experience of Johnny, it is impossible to believe that such horrific allegations are true. I find it extremely upsetting knowing him as I do."

Depp and Heard are in an on-going legal battle that continues to play out in the media. Following the couple’s split in 2016, Heard was awarded $7 million from Depp and donated the money to a children’s medical aid charity and an organization that helps prevent violence against women. Part of the agreement in the settlement was that Heard would not speak publicly about their relationship. Depp felt that Heard’s 2016 Porter Magazine essay about being a domestic abuse survivor violated those terms, leading to Depp’s decision to sue his ex-wife for defamation to the tune of $50 million.

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