Amber Heard's Ex-PI Paul Barresi Says Actress Seized Upon Johnny Depp's Power To Boost Her Career

According to the Daily Mail, Heard, 36, had originally employed the PI to dig up dirt on the "Pirates of the Caribbean" actor ahead of their trial.

"When Amber hired me, she demanded proof that Johnny was a serial abuser of women," claimed Barresi, who had previously been engaged to investigate unfounded stories that Tom Cruise had a gay affair.

In an attempt to accuse Depp, celebrity Sherlock Holmes examined nearly 100 of his old friends, some of whom had collaborated with him on films dating back three decades.

WireImage

Despite his thorough investigation, the sleuth was unable to "find another woman who said Johnny abused them," and as a result, he was fired by "The Rum Diary" star Heard.

Nonetheless, Barresi was so enthralled by the story that he started to investigate Depp on his own in the hopes of unearthing some of the actor's skeletons.

His following Depp investigation includes interviews with the actor's associates from "Donnie Brasco." The A-lister was routinely preyed upon by so-called friends, according to the findings. The Jack Sparrow star was persuaded by these famous lampreys to pay for everything from their rent to their house payments, cars, and even legal fees.

Getty Images

“Johnny was besieged by people who ingratiated themselves into his domain,” Barresi claimed. “Once they were there, they’d scratch his back with one hand while the other took in the feed.”

“All of the people around him have been on the taking for so many years,” he added.

One of the most egregious leeches, according to Barresi, was his ex-wife Heard, who "clearly realized his position in Hollywood and she seized upon that power in the hopes of furthering her career."

Reuters

According to the PI, another perpetrator was Depp's childhood buddy Isaac Baruch, who testified on his side throughout the trial. "He's the worst of them all," Barresi claimed. "He's lived his entire adult life relying on Johnny.”

“At the end of the day, in Hollywood, it’s who you know and who’s pulling for you,” the Tinseltown detective further suggested. “Because for every part in a movie there are 2,000 people equally competent to handle that role.”

Barresi, on the other hand, did not entirely blame Heard and other opportunists. He claimed that while Depp was a "king in the domain of entertainment," his "passive attitude" made him an easy target for con artists. The dramatist's difficult childhood, which saw him travel from a small Kentucky village to Hollywood and allegedly suffer abuse at the hands of his volatile and violent mother, Betty Sue Palmer Depp, was also a source of contention.

Getty Images

“He grew up to be a sensitive, fragile man,” Barresi claimed. “He didn’t have the role models to champion him.”

As a result, the actor is said to have acted financially irresponsibly, spending more than $2 million every month to fund his extravagant lifestyle — of which $100,000 was spent on drug addiction doctors, according to the Daily Mail — putting him in financial trouble. As a result, the Golden Globe winner is said to have exposed himself to wolves in sheep's clothing.

“His ruin was in part by his own doing,” claimed Barresi, who said he “interviewed so many people who said there are many people who took advantage of Johnny.”

Getty Images

According to the PI, the "Nightmare on Elm Street" star may have felt "guilty since he made so much money and feels like he needs to look after these individuals." According to Barresi, Depp's drug problem made him especially vulnerable to deception because it distracted him from the troubles going on behind his back.

In the end, Barresi blamed Depp's downfall on the "grifters, wannabes, and freeloaders" that surrounded him.

“They would insinuate into Johnny’s life,” Barresi claimed. “They would milk him for whatever he was worth — not so much materialistically or monetarily but emotionally.”

Getty Images

“That’s what he’s lived with for decades,” he concluded.

Depp was granted more than $10 million in his defamation case on Wednesday, prompting his shocking claims. Heard was held liable for defaming Depp, 58, in a 2018 Washington Post op-ed in which she represented herself as a victim of domestic abuse by a jury in Fairfax, Virginia. The jury also found that one of Depp's lawyers had defamed Heard, but only awarded her $2 million in damages.

Experts predict that the actress will not have to pay any money for a long time.

Getty Images

“No one will be writing any checks until the case is finally resolved — whether it’s on appeal or motions for a new trial, but there is going to be more litigation before we know who’s getting paid what,” former California judge and current criminal defense lawyer Halim Dhanidina told The Post.

Meanwhile, Heard's lawyer, Elaine Bredehoft, said that the actress would appeal the jury's decision, which held her guilty on all of Depp's allegations against her but only on one of her counterclaims.

“She has some excellent grounds for [appeal],” Bredehoft told “Today” show co-anchor, Savanah Guthrie.

“She was demonized here,” she added. “Several things were allowed in this court that should not have been allowed, and it caused the jury to be confused.”

Getty Images