Over the last few months, a slew of celebrities have become involved in the Johnny Depp and Amber Heard defamation lawsuit. Some were brought in simply because they were privy to sensitive information. Others, like Wynona Ryder and now Penelope Cruz, seem to have spoken or written out on behalf of Johnny Depp of their own accord.
Just a few days ago, Penelope Cruz filed her own written deposition on behalf of Johnny Depp, a move that has precedent, given her long history and acquaintance with the actor, as well as her working relationship with him.
Penelope Cruz noted on the record that she met Johnny Depp at 19 years of age, which would have been back in 1993. The two went on to appear in three movies together (so far). The first, Blow, came out in 2001. Subsequently, the two also appeared in Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides and in the 2017 murder mystery remake Murder on the Orient Express together.
It was during the filming of On Stranger Tides that Penelope Cruz said Johnny Depp revealed the extent of his willingness to be kind, noting,
I’ve seen Johnny in so many situations and he is always kind to everyone around. He is one of the most generous people I know. During six months of my first pregnancy, I spent every single day with him while we shot Pirates of the Caribbean. My husband and I will never forget the sweetness, protection and kindness he treated me with during every single step of that process.
Penelope Cruz is married to Javier Bardem, who also appeared in the Pirates franchise in the more recent movie Dead Men Tell No Tales. She also noted in the document (originally obtained by Fox News) that she and Bardem “feel lucky” to have Johnny Depp in their lives.
The news comes a few days after another of Johnny Depp’s co-stars, Wynona Ryder, also spoke out on behalf of the actor as part of the defamation lawsuit, noting he “was never, never violent” toward her in any of their interactions. She did also note that she could only speak from her own experiences with the actor on movies including Edward Scissorhands and during social interactions like the Great Balls of Fire premiere, where they met in 1989.
This is the sort of thing that will be in the news for awhile. Some municipal proceedings have shut down right now due to coronavirus-related concerns, but Johnny Depp has two cases currently in the works: A libel case that was supposed to begin this month (and also connects to his movie career), but was adjourned to a later date, and then this second defamation lawsuit with Amber Heard. That one’s set for August.
The defamation lawsuit has mentioned Pirates of the Caribbean before, as it came about after Johnny Depp's legal team alleged that an opinion editorial written by Amber Heard did damage to his career and ultimately lost him the cushy (and beloved) Disney gig as Captain Jack Sparrow.
There's been a lot of back and forth and he said, she said, but it's true that as Johnny Depp has dealt with this stuff in his personal life, the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise at Disney has started to move on. The last movie came out in 2017, and since then there has been a move to reboot the franchise from the House of Mouse. The last time we heard any word about the reboot gaining steam was in October of last year when new writers Ted Elliot and Craig Mazin were brought in to pen a movie.
Meanwhile, not everyone is sure the franchise can reboot without Captain Jack Sparrow. We'll have to wait and see how everything, from the court case to the potential reboot, ultimately pan out.
