Entertainment

Benicio del Toro Defends Johnny Depp

The list of those who are defending Johnny Depp in light of Amber Heard's domestic abuse allegations against him is growing. While speaking with the Daily News' Confidenti@l on Tuesday, Benicio del Toro defended Depp, his friend and Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas costar. "What I know, there’s a lot of trouble from the girl that sounds a little manipulative," he said. "It sounds a little bit like there’s something really twisted about that girl ... but I don’t know the specifics." He went onto call Depp "a nice guy, very caring, very smart." Del Toro didn't stop there and added,

It seems the fact that his mom passed away and she filed for divorce two days later, and then she wants money and she’s saying she got hit, it’s almost like, wait, I saw them not too long ago. Maybe it was January, a dinner for the Oscars or something like that. He was there with her and they were fine.

Del Toro is one of many individuals who have come to Depp's defense after Heard accused him of domestic abuse and filed a restraining order against him, which was granted by a judge. Heard's allegations came only days after she filed for divorce from Depp. Ever since the Magic Mike XXL actor's divorce filing and abuse accusations, several of Depp's family and friends have spoken out defending the Oscar-nominated actor.

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For example, Depp's ex, Vanessa Paradis, allegedly defended him in a written letter obtained by TMZ. The letter reportedly reads:

Johnny Depp is the father of my two children, he is a sensitive, loving and loved person, and I believe with all my heart that these recent allegations being made are outrageous, in all the years I have known Johnny, he has never been physically abusive with me and this looks nothing like the man I lived with for 14 wonderful years.

Her daughter with Depp, Lily-Rose, also came to his defense and wrote alongside a throwback photo with her dad shared on Instagram, "My dad is the sweetest most loving person I know, he's been nothing but a wonderful father to my little brother and I, and everyone who knows him would say the same."

However, if you were to ask Heard's friend iO Tillet Wright, the MTV Suspect co-host has some opposing thoughts regarding Depp. Wright claims to be a witness to a fight that allegedly occurred days before Heard filed for divorce. Wright claims to have heard Depp and Heard's alleged fight on May 21, while listening over the phone and claims to have called 911 at Heard's request.

On Monday, Wright took to Twitter and posted many tweets about the situation, including one reading, "How much evidence does a woman need to present?! She has photos, texts, witnesses, and filed a restraining order." Wright also wrote on Twitter:

As for del Toro's mention of Heard wanting money, comedian Doug Stanhope, who is supposedly a good friend of Depp, wrote a column for The Wrap claiming Heard falsely accused Depp of domestic violence in an attempt to blackmail the actor. Heard denied Stanhope's claims via her lawyer, Peter Sample, and said the allegations are "absolutely and unequivocally false."

According to People, in response to the restraining order, Depp's lawyer claimed, "Amber is attempting to secure a premature financial resolution by alleging abuse."

Depp's lawyer also released the following statement to People about other rumors surrounding his divorce from Heard, prior to Heard filing the restraining order:

Given the brevity of this marriage and the most recent and tragic loss of his mother, Johnny will not respond to any of the salacious false stories, gossip, misinformation and lies about his personal life. Hopefully the dissolution of this short marriage will be resolved quickly.

As for Heard, her lawyers released a statement to Just Jared on May 31, which reads in part:

As the result of Amber’s decision to decline giving an initial statement to the LAPD, her silence has been used against her by Johnny’s team. Amber did not provide a statement to the LAPD in an attempt to protect her privacy and Johnny’s career. Johnny’s team has forced Amber to give a statement to the LAPD to set the record straight as to the true facts, as she cannot continue to leave herself open to the vicious false and malicious allegations that have infected the media. Amber has suffered through years of physical and psychological abuse at the hands of Johnny.