12 h, may 13, 2020 y - DAILY MAIL He's no wife-beater! Johnny Depp's ex-lover Vanessa Paradis dismisses Amber Heard's abuse claims and praises 'kind, attentive and generous' actor as Winona Ryder insists star was never violent towards her

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He's no wife-beater! Johnny Depp's ex-lover Vanessa Paradis dismisses Amber Heard's abuse claims and praises 'kind, attentive and generous' actor as Winona Ryder insists star was never violent towards her

* Vanessa Paradis said Johnny Depp is 'kind' and 'non-violent', documents say
* Depp is suing News Group Newspapers over article that called him 'wife-beater'
* Lawyers for Mr Depp are seeking to admit evidence from Ms Paradis

By HENRY MARTIN FOR MAILONLINE

Johnny Depp's ex-partner Vanessa Paradis has said he is a 'kind, attentive, generous and non-violent person and father', according to court documents in his libel claim.

The Pirates Of The Caribbean star is suing the Sun newspaper's publisher, News Group Newspapers (NGN), and its executive editor, Dan Wootton, over an April 2018 article which referred to the 56-year-old as a 'wife-beater'.

The article related to allegations made against Mr Depp by his former wife, actress Amber Heard - which the actor strenuously denies.

Mr Depp and Ms Heard split in 2016, and are now fighting in two separate legal actions on both sides of the Atlantic.

Ms Heard, who previously alleged Depp beat her, said she feared for her life during their relationship and that he choked her and ripped out her hair. His side insist her allegations are 'a hoax', that she hit him and went so far as to 'paint on' her bruises.

Lawyers for Mr Depp are seeking to admit evidence from Ms Paradis, who has two children with the star, as part of his case against the publisher - which is due to be tried at the High Court in London in July.

David Sherborne, representing Mr Depp, said in court documents that his relationship with Ms Paradis ended in 2012, shortly before he and Ms Heard were together, 'and when he is first alleged to have been violent'.

In a witness statement, Ms Paradis said: 'I have known Johnny for more than 25 years.

'We've been partners for 14 years and we raised our two children together.

'Through all these years I've known Johnny to be a kind, attentive, generous, and non-violent person and father.'

She added: 'He was never violent or abusive to me.'

At a hearing conducted remotely over Skype today, Mr Depp's lawyers also said they wish to adduce evidence from actress Winona Ryder, who was in a relationship with the star in the 1990s.

In her statement, Ms Ryder said: 'I cannot wrap my head around (Ms Heard's) accusations.

'He was never, never violent towards me. He was never, never abusive at all towards me.'

Mr Depp's lawyers also wish to call evidence from a former personal assistant to Ms Heard, and a mechanic who worked for the couple before their acrimonious divorce.

A spokesperson for Ms Heard said: 'The evidence from Mr Depp's mechanic and a disgruntled former employee is tangential and does not speak to whether Mr Depp is the perpetrator of domestic violence against Ms Heard.

'In relation to Vanessa Paradis and Winona Ryder's evidence, we are glad they did not have the same experience as Ms Heard. However, one woman's experience does not determine the experience of another woman.

Mr Depp's attorney Adam Waldman said: 'Today's pre-trial review was largely a hearing of the Sun's attempts to first publicly smear, and then seek to exclude the testimony of multiple witnesses against their friend Amber Heard. Seeking to hide the truth is ironic because ''truth'' is the Sun's defense. The defense of truth is also ironic because the Sun's own reporter and fellow Defendant Dan Wootton refuses to testify in support of his own story.'

A two-week trial was due to start in London on March 25 at which the actor, Ms Heard and a number of Hollywood figures would have had to give evidence, but it was put on hold due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

The trial is now set to take place at the Royal Courts of Justice over three weeks from July 7, with strict social distancing measures in place.

Mr Justice Nicol, hearing the case, previously ruled that parts of Ms Heard's evidence, relating to allegations of sexual violence, will be heard in private.

He made his ruling following an application by lawyers for NGN, saying the orders sought by the publishers were 'necessary and proportionate'.

The exact nature of the allegations was not disclosed to the press or public and remain unknown.

The judge is now being asked to deal with a number of directions ahead of the planned trial date.

Mr Sherborne said Mr Depp denies that he has ever hit any woman, and that he accuses Ms Heard of being 'abusive and physically aggressive' - which she vehemently denies.

The libel claim against NGN and Mr Wootton arises out of publication of an article in The Sun in April 2018, under the headline 'Gone Potty - How can JK Rowling be 'genuinely happy' casting wife-beater Johnny Depp in the new Fantastic Beasts film?'

Mr Depp has brought separate libel proceedings against Ms Heard in the US, which the court has previously heard are 'ongoing'.

The pair met on the set of 2011 comedy The Rum Diary and married in Los Angeles in February 2015.

In May 2016, Ms Heard obtained a restraining order against Mr Depp after accusing him of abuse, which he denied.

The couple settled their divorce out of court in 2017, with Ms Heard donating her £5.5 million settlement to charity.

The American lawsuit is due to be heard in August.

Mr Depp has always argued that he was the victim of an 'elaborate hoax' instigated by his ex-wife, who 'faked' her injuries with makeup after a blowout May 2016 fight that finally ended their toxic marriage.

Ms Heard responded with a lurid 300-page filing of her own, cataloging the 'horrific' abuse she claims to have suffered at Mr Depp's hands, describing him as 'the monster' and recalling many of the allegations she made during their divorce.

The filing included photos of bruises and scars, clumps of hair apparently torn from Ms Heard's head and pictures of smashed up furniture to illustrate the violence she was allegedly subjected to.

Ms Heard had a restraining order slapped on Mr Depp following an altercation on May 27, 2016, during which she claimed the actor threw a mobile phone at her face at their downtown Los Angeles condominium.

Ms Heard claimed police had evidence of the attack but two LAPD officers later said in a deposition that they found nothing to suggest a crime took place.

DailyMail.com obtained exclusive tape recordings which were made in 2015, around a year before the alleged fight, as the pair tried to talk through their caustic marriage problems.

Their heart-to-heart quickly descends into bickering as Ms Heard accuses Mr Depp of taking her for granted, behaving like a 'vacation husband' and 'splitting' every time they have an argument.

Mr Depp complains he's forced to leave when she becomes 'manic and angry', telling Ms Heard: 'I'm not going be in a physical f**king altercation with you... you f**king hit me last night.'

He goes on to add: 'I'm not the one who throws pots and whatever the f**k else at me.'

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