Helena Bonham Carter says Johnny Depp is ‘not stupid’ ahead of libel case ruling

Helena Bonham Carter said her friend Johnny Depp is “not stupid” as the Hollywood star awaits the outcome of his blockbuster libel case.

Depp launched legal action over an article in The Sun newspaper labelling him a “wife beater” and alleging he was violent towards his ex-wife Amber Heard.

The trial gripped the public on both sides of the Atlantic as lurid details about the Pirates Of The Caribbean star’s private life were made public over three weeks in July at London’s Royal Courts of Justice.

Judge Mr Justice Nicol will deliver his long-awaited ruling on Monday.

Bonham Carter, who has worked with Depp on seven films including Charlie And The Chocolate Factory and Sweeney Todd, told the Guardian she was surprised at the situation Depp is in.

She said: “There’s something quite old-fashioned about Johnny, with these
manners – none of it makes sense. But the man’s not stupid. He wouldn’t
have gone to this length if he thought he was in the wrong.”

Bonham Carter, who is reprising her role as Princess Margaret in Netflix’s regal drama The Crown, also discussed her experience working with disgraced Hollywood mogul Harvey Weinstein.

“I never see anything in black and white,” she said. “I believe people are multicoloured, they’re almost never all good or all bad.

“Weinstein was a bully, full stop. But also, not full stop, really. He was a bully, possible sociopath and fantastically effective producer of films.”

The Crown season four arrives on Netflix on November 15.