How Paul Bettany Was Mocked After Publicly Defending Johnny Depp Against Abuse Allegations Revisited

KEY POINTS

Paul Bettany defended Johnny Depp from Amber Heard's abuse allegations
Paul Bettany mocked for defending Johnny Depp
Twitter users campaign for justice for Johnny Depp

Paul Bettany was mocked by social media users after defending Johnny Depp from Amber Heard’s abuse allegations.

Bettany and Depp have been good friends after working together in several movies. Both starred in “The Tourist” in 2010. They also worked together in “Transcendence” in 2014 and “Mortdecai” in 2015.

In 2016, when Depp and Heard were embroiled in a legal battle following their split, the “Aquaman” actress alleged that Depp was abusive and violent. The “Avengers: Age of Ultron” actor was among the few who publicly stood by Depp. In a tweet, Bettany showed his support to Depp by describing the latter as the “sweetest, kindest, gentlest man that I’ve ever known.”

Bettany’s post on Twitter received several reactions from other online users. Many attacked him for standing up for Deep because they were convinced that Heard was telling the truth and they were quick to judge the “Pirates of the Caribbean” star.

“that's what people always say when they learn a person they know did a terrible thing... just saying,” one commented.

“Unless you've been in a romantic relationship with him, you have no idea what he's capable of. Abusers are often charming,” @triplezmom opined.

“You're just blinded by the fact that its johnny like any other fan,” @sidra_f98 added.

“Bad move, calling a woman a liar about abuse. bad move, sir,” @caramiaboyd wrote.

“This is awful for you to say at a time like this, understand that anyone can become an abuser & you shouldn't blame the victim,” @mlesmorales commented.

Bettany wasn’t the only pal who defended Depp online. American-Canadian theoretical physicist Lawrence M. Krauss also said the same thing about Heard’s ex-husband. “As another friend of Johnny's I wanted to thank you for your brave and true statement. I couldn't agree more. Thank you,” he commented on Bettany’s post.

Delete this. Abuse mechanics at work here.
— Lost Bird (@Donwhitmore) May 28, 2016

Oh dear. I'm a fan of ur work but think this was a mistake. Harold Shipman's WIFE didn't know he was murdering people & the friends of an abuser don't always know. Don't smear all. Don't be that man. Think of the abused women reading ur comments.
— Philipa 🌈 (@Pippyz) July 22, 2018

Four years later, Bettany’s post is still flooded with comments, but this time they are in support of Depp after Heard’s audio tape confessing that she hit Depp leaked. Since then, several online users have been campaigning for justice for Depp.

Meanwhile, Depp allegedly texted Bettany to drown and burn Heard. Depp’s lawyer denied it. Some online users still defended Depp saying that he never hurt her and he was just venting out to a friend, not really threatening her.