Bettany: I Hadn't Spoken to Depp in Years Before Texts — SkimNews
Get the Culture newsletter
Daily culture — film, music, books, the trends and ideas worth your attention. Free.
- Paul Bettany told The Times he hadn't spoken to Johnny Depp in years when their text messages were read out during Depp's libel lawsuit against The Sun.
- Bettany said he was being "painted as this close friend" of Depp in public perception, a characterization he disputed in the interview.
- The text messages between the two actors became part of the court record in Depp's libel suit against The Sun, a UK newspaper, though the lawsuit itself is not the subject of Bettany's comments.
Why it matters: Bettany's on-the-record correction reframes a relationship the trial's public transcript implied was intimate, showing that private messages surfaced in celebrity litigation can cement a closeness narrative that one party later publicly denies — even years after the case concluded.
Ask SkimNews
