Johnny Depp Supported By Women's Abuse Organization Led By Former Miss Italy

A women's and children's support group has stated support of Johnny Depp in his ongoing defamation suit against ex-wife Amber Heard.

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On Friday, Mission NGO issued a statement, a nonprofit group led by former Miss Italy Valeria Altobelli, a nonprofit group, expressing 'compassion for Johnny Depp in this bad chapter of his personal history.'

The court heard disturbing evidence suggesting that Heard physically abused Depp, including an audiotape of Heard admitting that she had hit him.

Heard has long accused Depp of being the abuser in the relationship, which he claims ended his acting career and led to his $50 million defamation lawsuit against the Aquaman actress.

Altobelli, who founded Mission NGO with support from other participants in the 2004 Miss World pageant in China, said in a statement that her group 'gives no sex, no gender, no race, no color, no age to the concept of violence.'

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'Women from all over the world stand against domestic violence, regardless of gender, age, or race,' said Altobelli.

'Our mission is to educate men and women, with no gender differences, to keep talking and living in the values of love, mutual comprehension and sensitivity in order to prevent all kinds of violence, against women, against men, against children,' the beauty queen added.

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'As women, we have compassion and we feel empathy not for THE star, THE talent, THE actor but for a man, a father, a worker, A HUMAN,' wrote Altobelli, referring to Depp.

'Mental Health is something we have to care about to live in a positive environment where women and men can love and respect each other without any kind of abuse and violence,' she added. 

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In his suit, Depp claims that an op-ed piece Heard wrote for The Washington Post in 2018 unfairly portrayed him as a domestic abuser, costing him a lucrative Hollywood career that included the Pirates of the Caribbean film franchise.

Depp has testified that he never struck Heard and that he was the victim of her abuse.

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However, Heard's attorneys claim that those denials are untrustworthy because he frequently drank and used drugs to blackout.

On Thursday, the 19th day of the trial, Heard's attorneys played a previously taped deposition from actress Ellen Barkin. She dated Depp in the 1990s and portrayed him as controlling, jealous, and angry.

Barkin testified during her deposition that Depp was "always drinking or smoking a joint" or doing other illegal drugs. She stated that she dated Depp for three to five months and described their relationship as more sexual than romantic.

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Barkin co-starred in 'Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas with Depp. During filming, Barkin claimed Depp threw a wine bottle at her while arguing with some friends in a hotel room. However, she stated that she had no idea why he threw the bottle.

Heard's lawyers argue that Depp's career decline caused his bad behavior, not Heard's op-ed.

They played witness testimony that traced the actor's fall from 'the biggest movie star in the world to a man who struggled with drugs, money, and the ability to show up on time on film sets.

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Tracey Jacobs, who served as the actor's agent for about 30 years, said Depp was 'showing up late to set consistently on virtually every movie' during their final years working together.

'I was very honest with him and said, `You've got to stop doing this - this is hurting you,´' Jacobs said. 'And it did.'

According to Jacobs, Depp was an extraordinary talent, but his behavior in the years before he fired her in 2016 became increasingly unprofessional, while his drug and alcohol use increased.

'And it also got around town,' Jacobs said. 'I mean, people talk, it's a small community. And it made people reluctant to use him.'

In a previously recorded deposition, Joel Mandel, Depp's former business manager, testified that the 'Pirates of the Caribbean' films had 'catapulted him into an entirely different level of success.'

'It meant more employees,' Mandel said. 'It meant buying additional property. ... It meant a bigger life and a more expensive one.'

Things began to change around 2010, and it 'became clear over time that there were issues with alcohol and drugs,' Mandel said. 'And that translated into more erratic behavior, more stressful behavior, more times when it was difficult to engage in the kinds of conversations I needed to do my job.'

At one point, Depp was spending around $100,000 a month for a doctor and staff to help him get sober, Mandel said. 

He said he was spending $300,000 a month on full-time staff at another. And he said there also were times when Depp spent thousands of dollars a month on prescription drugs.

'The spending levels had grown very, very, very large and required that level of incredibly high income to be maintained,' Mandel said. 'And when it dropped off, the disconnect became untenable.'

Mandel claimed that he became concerned about Depp's finances in 2015 but that Depp responded angrily. He claimed the actor fired him in 2016.