Paul Bettany says he has not spoken to Johnny Depp since their private texts were read out in court

Paul Bettany, 55, has revealed he cut off contact with Johnny Depp after their graphic 2013 text exchange about Amber Heard was exposed during Depp's 2020 libel case against The Sun. He said he had not spoken to Depp for years before the trial and has not spoken to him since. He said being portrayed as a close friend of someone he had already lost touch with was 'the most odd' part of the whole saga. He stayed silent at the time, believing people would treat it as 'a nothing burger'.

The texts, sent in 2013, saw Depp write 'Let's burn Amber!!!' and later suggest drowning her 'before we burn her'.

Depp sued The Sun over a 2018 'wife beater' headline but lost after the court ruled the claim was 'substantially true'.

Bettany, who has been married for 23 years, currently appears in Marvel series 'VisionQuest'.