Johnny Depp's 'mean' mother abandoned him as a teen, divorce documents claim
It is revealed that Johnny's mother said he was 'emancipated and self-supporting' at the time of her divorce
Amid his legal battle with ex-wife Amber Heard, court documents reveal Johnny Depp was abandoned by his 'mean' mother when he was a teenager.
The papers were submitted to court in 1981 during Betty Sue Depp's divorce with the actor’s father John Depp. It is revealed that Betty claimed Johnny, at the time a minor, was “emancipated and self-supporting."
The divorce document, signed in 1981, states, “The wife hereby acknowledges that the parties’ minor child … John C. Depp II is fully emancipated and self-supporting.”
However, Johnny in interviews said he started taking drugs at just 11.
The papers were discovered by Hollywood fixer Paul Barresi in his research for the new Discovery+ series Johnny Depp v Amber Heard.
Barresi said, “He said since age 11, he’s taken all manner of substances, including marijuana, cocaine, ecstasy, LSD, prescription painkillers, opiates and magic mushrooms. His drug use, he said, was a way to escape family problems.
“He struggled to find gigs in a garage band and peddled ink pens working part-time as a telemarketer.
“Needless to say, at age 17, Johnny was hardly financially self-sufficient, and far from being emancipated. As far as I am concerned, his mother disowned him at a time when he unquestionably needed her most. There is no court record of him ever having been legally emancipated.”
In an interview with Rolling Stone in 2018, Johnny said of her mother, "My mom was maybe the meanest human being I have ever met in my life.”