Bettany disputes the friendship narrative
In a recent conversation with The Times, Paul Bettany addressed how the public came to see his connection to Johnny Depp after messages between the two actors were read out during Depp's libel action against The Sun. Bettany said that at the time of the case he had not been in touch with Depp for years, and that no contact had occurred since. He described the impression of a close friendship as inaccurate, and said that among the many accusations the two celebrities traded, this particular characterization struck him as the strangest.[S1][S2][S5]
Bettany explained that he opted not to respond publicly because he believed people understood who he was. He noted that he has been married for 23 years and, given the nature of his work, keeps a very private life. In his view, most observers treated the matter as insignificant and let it drop.[S1]
How the messages surfaced
A text exchange between Depp and Bettany, written in 2013, became public when it was read during a hearing in February 2020. In the messages, Depp proposed burning Amber Heard, and Bettany replied at length, joking that she was pleasant company and easy on the eye and that he doubted she was a witch. He then suggested a drowning test as an English approach to such situations. Depp answered that they should drown her before burning her and made a further crude remark about her burnt corpse.[S1][S3][S4]
The two performers have appeared together in several films, among them The Tourist in 2010, Transcendence in 2014 and Mortdecai in 2015.[S1]
The libel case and its outcome
Depp sued News Group Newspapers, which publishes The Sun, over an article whose headline asked how J.K. Rowling could be truly pleased about casting, in the Fantastic Beasts film, a man the piece called a wife beater. Depp said the article seriously harmed his personal and professional reputation and brought him considerable distress and embarrassment. Judge Andrew Nicol decided the case against him in 2020.[S1]
