Paul Bettany Breaks Silence on Johnny Depp Trial Texts

Paul Bettany says he had not spoken to Johnny Depp "in years" when their text messages were read aloud in Depp's 2020 libel trial against The Sun. The actor made the disclosure in a recent interview with The Times, his first extended public comments on the episode.

"I hadn't spoken to Johnny in years when that happened and I haven't spoken to him since," Bettany told the publication. "I was being painted as this close friend of a guy I hadn't spoken to in years and, honestly, amid all the shit two celebrities threw at each other, that bit was the most odd."

What did Bettany say about staying silent?

Bettany explained why he never publicly addressed the controversy when it erupted. He chose restraint over defense.

"So I decided to say nothing because, I think, people know me," he said. "I've been married 23 years and, for what I do, I live an incredibly quiet life. Everybody kind of thought this is probably a nothing burger – and left it alone."

That 23-year marriage and deliberately quiet life formed the core of his calculation: the public, he reasoned, already knew who he was.

What was read in court?

The texts at issue date from 2013. They were read during a February 2020 hearing in London's High Court, according to Variety's account of the proceedings.

In the exchange:

• Depp wrote: "Let's burn Amber!!!"
• Bettany responded: "Having thought it through I don't think we should burn Amber – she's delightful company and easy on the eye, plus I'm not sure she's a witch. We could of course try the English course of action in these predicaments – we do a drowning test. Thoughts?"
• Depp replied: "drown her before we burn her!!! I will fuck her burnt corpse afterwards to make sure she's dead."

The messages referred to Amber Heard, then Depp's wife. Their publication recast Bettany in the public eye as a confidant in Depp's orbit — a portrait he now says was false.

How did the two actors know each other?

Bettany and Depp co-starred in three films across five years:

• "The Tourist" (2010)
• "Transcendence" (2014)
• "Mortdecai" (2015)

The professional history explains why the private texts existed at all, but Bettany insists the friendship had cooled long before the trial made the messages public.

What was the case about?

Depp sued News Group Newspapers (NGN), publisher of The Sun, over a 2018 article headlined "Gone Potty – How can JK Rowling be 'genuinely happy' casting wife beater Johnny Depp in the new 'Fantastic Beasts' film?"

Depp alleged the article "caused serious harm to (his) personal and professional reputation" and caused him "significant distress and embarrassment."

In November 2020, Judge Andrew Nicol ruled against Depp. The judgment stands as the ruling that made the Bettany texts a matter of permanent public record.

Why does this matter now?

Bettany's account reframes a four-year-old courtroom moment that had defined him by association. He has now put a date and a distance on the relationship — years of silence before the trial, none since — and offered his reasoning for never correcting the record earlier. Whether the disclosure closes the chapter or reopens scrutiny of the 2013 exchange remains to be seen.