‘Justice for Johnny Depp’: Fans defend movie star on Twitter after ex-wife Amber Heard seemingly admits to abuse on tape

Fans of movie star Johnny Depp have demanded their idol’s name be cleared, after his ex-wife Amber Heard apparently admitted to hitting and throwing objects at him in a leaked audio tape. Heard has accused Depp of domestic abuse.

In an audio confession leaked to the Daily Mail, Heard admits to hitting Depp with pans, pots and vases. The conversation took place during a therapy session in 2015, as the tinseltown pair attempted to save their tumultuous marriage.

“I'm sorry that I didn't, uh, uh, hit you across the face in a proper slap, but I was hitting you, it was not punching you. Babe, you're not punched,” Heard tells Depp, attempting to explain a violent outburst the night before.

During the two-hour conversation, Heard - an advocate for women’s rights and domestic violence survivors - tells Depp to “grow the f*ck up” and “just because I’ve thrown pots and pans does not mean you cannot come and knock on my door.”

Depp recounts at least three physical fights in the preceding months, and tells Heard that if the violence continues, “we have to be apart from one another...so that we don't f*cking kill each other or f*cking worse, you know, f*cking really kill each other or f*cking break up or whatever.”

After ridiculing Depp for leaving their house when several arguments broke out, Heard tells the ‘Pirates of the Carribean’ actor “I can't promise you I won't get physical again. God I f*cking sometimes I get so mad I lose it.”

Depp and Heard’s marriage was the stuff of Hollywood cliches. Wedded in 2015, the pair separated a year later, with Heard obtaining a restraining order along with a divorce. Though the pair finalized their split with a joint statement declaring “there was never any intent of physical or emotional harm,” the acrimony continued, with Heard penning a Washington Post op-ed in 2018 detailing her experience as a domestic abuse victim.

Though Depp is not explicitly named in the piece, he has since sued Heard for defamation, with the $50 million case postponed until this August. Both Heard and Depp have filed allegations of each other’s supposed abuse as part of the case, including graphic pictures of cuts, bruises, and in Heard’s case, hair supposedly ripped from her head.

For fans of Depp, the tape vindicated their idol. The hashtag ‘JusticeForJohnnyDepp’ trended on Twitter on Saturday, as supporters lent Depp their sympathy. “I hope those who instantly assumed Johnny Depp was guilty and made public comments to that effect are feeling fairly shit about all this now,” British comedian Jonathan Pie tweeted.

Before it was postponed, the defamation trial was due to get underway on Monday. The timing of the audio leak indicates that it was revealed by Depp’s team to sway public opinion ahead of the trial. 

Depp’s attorney, Adam Waldman, told the Daily Mail that “these tapes containing Amber Heard's chilling confessions of violence further expose and destroy her abuse hoax.” Meanwhile, a spokesperson for Heard described the leak as “nothing more than the latest misogynistic effort at victim-blaming.”

Think your friends would be interested? Share this story!