The former private investigator hired by Amber Heard’s legal team to dig up dirt on Johnny Depp admits he was shocked by the amount of unwavering support for the actor as he faced abuse allegations.
In his new self-published book, Johnny Depp’s Accidental RepairmanIn a video posted on July 5, Paul Barresi, 74, recalls interviewing 100 people ahead of Depp’s libel lawsuit against his ex-wife, only to find that most were still on the star’s side.
They described Depp as a “gentleman’s gentlemen” and as someone who “doesn’t have a mean bone in his body” despite the disturbing allegations that had been made against him.
Friends of the Pirates of the Caribbean star also told Barresi that Depp had “respect and adoration for women,” in contrast to Heard’s claims that he was physically and mentally abusive.
Johnny Depp’s massive fan base stood by the actor as he battled abuse allegations leveled against him by his ex-wife Amber Heard during his explosive defamation trial in Virginia in 2022.
Heard’s team hired the former private investigator in July 2019 to find information that could be useful in her case against Depp and in defamation trials in the UK and US.
But according to Barresi, a former adult film actor turned private detective and Hollywood troubleshooter whose past clients include Arnold Schwarzenegger, Tom Cruise and Sylvester Stallone, he had embarked on an “unwavering pursuit of the truth” about Depp, even if the findings were not what Heard’s lawyers wanted.
Barresi was first hired by Heard’s team in July 2019 to find information that could be useful against Depp, ahead of both his defamation trials in the UK and US.
Depp ultimately lost the 2020 libel case heard at London’s High Court against a U.K. newspaper that had branded him a “wife beater,” with a judge ruling that he had caused Heard to fear for her life.
In his new book, ‘Johnny Depp’s Accidental Fixer’, Paul Barresi, 74, reveals his shock at the outpouring of support for the actor amid his legal battle with ex-wife Amber Heard.
But in the United States, a second defamation trial in Virginia against Heard ruled in Depp’s favour, with the jury awarding him a total of $15 million: $10 million in compensatory damages and $5 million in punitive damages.
Barresi does not specify what case he was working on, only that he was instructed to “dig into Johnny Depp’s life and history and uncover evidence of his alleged physical abuse of women.”
He was ordered to dig up witness statements, videos, photographs or anything else that might support Heard’s claims against Depp.
But once Barresi began talking to Depp’s associates, she found the outlook was more positive than Heard’s lawyers had hoped.
Brad Furman, the director of the 2018 crime thriller City of Lies, was among those who questioned some of the allegations that had been made against Depp over the years.
The Hollywood star was sued in an unrelated case for assault by the film’s location manager, Gregg Brooks, in 2017.
Supporters of Johnny Depp argue with a supporter of Amber Heard outside a Fairfax County courthouse on May 27, 2022
The crew member claimed that Depp had become violent towards him on the set of the film.
Brooks’ personal assistant, Miguel Gutierrez, backed him up, saying Depp offered Brooks $100,000 to punch him in the face and then punched him twice in the lower torso.
But Furman disagreed, telling Barresi that the fight did not turn physical and that Depp “has always been charming.”
Production assistants also said Depp was “charming” and a retired LAPD officer who was working on the film said the fight was “trivial” in his opinion.
When Barresi suggested Depp was violent, model and actress Carre Otis scoffed at the idea, calling it “ridiculous,” she writes in the book.
Former child star Olivia Barash, who worked at Depp’s famous Hollywood nightclub The Viper Room in the 1990s, echoed those sentiments, saying: “Johnny doesn’t have a mean bone in his body.”
Richmond Arquette, of the Arquette clan of actors who also worked on Viper Room, called Depp “a gentleman among gentlemen.”
Barresi cast his net wider and spoke to other people who had known Depp for years.
Among them was singer Chuck Weiss, who said: ‘In my presence, Johnny has always shown respect and adoration for women.’
Journalist Seven McDonald dismissed Barresi’s efforts to dig up dirt on Depp, saying she never knew the actor was a threat.
Depp lost his defamation trial in the UK, but a second defamation trial in Virginia against Heard would later rule in his favour, with a jury awarding him a total of $15 million in damages.
Brooks also claimed that Johnny’s “intoxication and temper created a hostile, abusive and unsafe work environment” on the set of City of Lies.
She said: “I don’t think I can help you. Johnny is a sweet man. I’ve never seen him be violent, in fact, quite the opposite. Johnny Depp is the type who would crawl through a drainpipe to save a kitten from drowning.”
Perhaps the most outspoken in his defense of Depp was tattoo artist Jonathan Shaw, a close friend of the actor.
He told Barresi: ‘Johnny is super controlled and he is a superhuman being.
“The only thing I would be willing to help that f***ing gold-digger (Heard) do is help her load the gun she wanted to use to blow her brains out.”
Barresi includes some unflattering accounts of Depp.
Journalist Mark Ebner recounted how Depp threatened to “set her on fire” during a Viper Room encounter, which even Barresi says was a “chilling prelude” to Depp’s now infamous text to his actor friend Paul Bettany about setting Heard on fire, a detail that came to light at the trial in Virginia.
The ex-wife of Depp’s close friend Isaac Baruch said Baruch was a “manipulative” and that he and Depp are “birds of a feather.”
But overall, Barresi came away with admiration for Depp, saying she felt a “deep empathy for his struggles and triumphs.”
His research allowed Barresi to understand the “complexities of his character,” he writes.
Barresi writes: “Through this journey, my goal was to honor our shared humanity, shed light on the man behind the myths, and offer a narrative based on genuine understanding and compassion.”