The 'Animal Kingdom' actress talks about testifying against the 'Pirates of the Caribbean' actor in Amber Heard trial, saying she will always stand up for people if she feels they 'need help.'
- Feb 23, 2023
AceShowbiz - Ellen Barkin insists testifying against former partner Johnny Depp in his defamation trial was not an "act of bravery." The 68-year-old actress testified in the legal proceedings between the "Pirates of the Caribbean" star and his ex-wife Amber Heard, saying she'd seen Johnny be "verbally abusive" towards his staff.
Barkin, however, insisted speaking out was nothing to celebrate as she was just doing what she felt she should. "I've never met Amber Heard in my life, but I know what I know about Johnny Depp," she told the Huffington Post.
"He never touched me, but I saw violence. I saw him strangle an AD [assistant director]. He did throw a wine bottle. But I didn't feel at the time that [testifying] was an act of bravery. I felt it's just what you do."
The "Animal Kingdom" actress recalled asking why she had been subpoenaed and was proud when she was told that every lawyer in the room felt she wouldn't lie. She said, "That was the nicest thing anyone ever said. I felt more proud of myself then. And I was like, 'That's the truth. I won't lie.' "
Ellen will always stand up for people if she feels they "need help." She said, "I guess I just feel like I'm a human being, and I am obliged to stand up for my fellow man when they need help. It sounds corny as s**t, but the older I get, the more I just say, 'This cannot stand with my mouth closed.' "
In the court battle, the "Aquaman" actress ended up being ordered to pay her ex-husband $10.35 million in compensatory and punitive damages last June after a jury in Virginia ruled she had defamed him when she wrote an article in 2018 about being a victim of domestic abuse, while she was awarded $2 million in compensatory damages - in which she said the 59-year-old actor had been "controlling," "jealous," and "demanding" during their relationship in the early 1990s.
Pre-trial documents unsealed after the trial included Ellen's 2019 deposition, in which she claimed Johnny gave her a Quaalude the first time they had sex. The "Big Easy" star claimed to Amber's lawyers that Johnny drank too much wine and once threw a bottle at her in a hotel room.
Ellen said the "Black Mass" star was "a yeller" and "verbally abusive," however, she insisted he was never physically abusive towards her because his staff who would take the brunt of his "violence" and she claimed he would call his assistant "pig."
She said, "His assistant. People who would work on the film, maybe in what he would view as a lower capacity than he functions at. There is just a world of violence." Speaking of his drinking habit, she said, "He was drunk all the, most, a lot of the time. He was always drinking - or smoking a joint."
