Winona Ryder, 48, has reportedly come forward to vouch for her ex-fiancé Johnny Depp, 56, in his $50 million defamation case against his ex-wife Amber Heard, 33! Given Winona’s household name as the star of Stranger Things and Johnny and Amber’s back-and-forth domestic violence allegations, this would be a big move for Winona. The Oscar-nominated actress allegedly filed a declaration in Virginia and went on record to provide her side of the story, and she made it clear that she’s “in support” of Johnny, according to court documents that The Blast reviewed on March 12. HollywoodLife has not reviewed these documents, and therefore can only relay The Blast’s report — we’ve reached out to Winona’s rep for comment.
The ’90s darling began the declaration by reflecting on her relationship with Johnny; they began dating in 1989, and were engaged between 1990-1993. They even starred in Tim Burton’s 1990 classic, Edward Scissorhands, together. “I am aware of the violence allegations that have been made publicly for the last few years by Johnny Depp’s ex-wife Amber Heard,” Amber wrote in the declaration. “I knew Johnny very well years ago. We were together as a couple for four years, and I counted him as my best friend, and as close to me as family. I count our relationship as one of the more significant relationships of my life. I understand that it is very important that I speak from my own experience.”
Winona then confessed her stunned reaction to Amber’s allegations, according to the court documents. “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 Beetlejuice star continued. “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.”
Finally, Winona insisted that she has never witnessed an ounce of “violence” in Johnny. “He was never, never violent towards me,” she continued. “He was never, never abusive at all towards me. He has never been violent or abusive towards anybody I have seen. 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. 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.”
This isn’t the first time Winona has publicly defended Johnny. In a 2016 interview with Time, she told the magazine, “He was never, never that way towards me. Never abusive at all towards me. I only know him as a really good, loving, caring guy who is very, very protective of the people that he loves. I wasn’t there. I don’t know what happened. I’m not calling anyone a liar. I’m just saying, it’s difficult and upsetting for me to wrap my head around it.”
Johnny and Amber have been embroiled in an intense and very public legal battle ever since Amber filed for a temporary restraining order in May of 2016 with marks on her face, just days after filing for divorce. Johnny alleged that these were “painted-on bruises” and added in his emotional declaration for his lawsuit case, obtained by The Blast in May of 2019, “I will continue to deny them [Amber’s abuse allegations] for the rest of my life. I never abused Ms. Heard or any other woman.” It now looks like Winona is continuing to stand behind that statement.