Paul Bettany Says Texts Being Used In Libel Case Was “Embarrassing”

Paul Bettany says he was ’embarrassed’ when his text exchanges with Johnny Depp were used in the libel case against The Sun.

Depp ultimately lost the 2020 libel case against the British tabloid, which had branded him a “wife beater” in an April 2018 article after accusations from his ex-wife Amber Heard.

During the trial, The Sun called upon Bettany’s text messages as evidence. Citing one digital interaction, Depp proposed, “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?”

“Let’s drown her before we burn her!” Depp replied. “I will f*** her burnt corpse afterwards to make sure she’s dead.”

In an interview with The Times, Bettany addressed the “embarrassing” experience of having his private texts read out in court, saying: “We live in a world without context.”

“I didn’t know Johnny when he was married to Amber. I knew him before. But we hadn’t spoken in years. During the marriage, I didn’t know them. So I wasn’t around for any of that.”

Calling it a “very surreal moment”, the 50-year-old actor said, “I know how this works. Anything that you say is oxygen for a fire. And there’s just no f****** fire. The only real way to deal with this elegantly is to say: I’m not sure there’s anybody who has one of these devices that would feel comfortable having a team of lawyers scour their private text messages.”

Bettany is best known for playing Vision in Marvel titles including Avengers: Infinity War and WandaVision.

You can find more celebrity news on our website and iOS & Android application.