Why Johnny Depp Reportedly Paid Vanessa Paradis $100 Million To Keep Split ‘Amicable’
He later called her an "extortionist."
Featureflash Photo Agency / Shutterstock / YouTube With the Johnny Depp and Amber Heard case heating up not only in the courtroom but all over social media, every last detail of the Hollywood stars' personal lives is being analyzed.
Details of Depp's previous relationships are often referenced by both his supporters and critics as perceived evidence of his guilt or innocence.
In particular, his 14-year-long relationship with French singer Vanessa Paradis, who is the mother of his two children, has been probed.
While the pair were once one of Hollywood's longest-standing couples, rumors about their split may paint a different story.
Johnny Depp is rumored to have paid Vanessa Paradis to keep the breakup 'amicable.'
Or at least that's how reports were spun at the time of their 2012 split.
Depp reportedly paid Paradis $100 million after their breakup, giving up half of his fortune in order to avoid a messy court battle.
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As the couple was never married, Paradis would have had to file a civil lawsuit in order to get Depp's earnings however he allegedly opted to give it to her without going to court.
Depp and Paradis reportedly didn’t want their breakup to be too hard on their two kids, Lily-Rose, who was 13 at the time, and then-nine-year-old Jack.
However, recent allegations suggest that, behind the scenes, there may have been other reasons for Depp to fear that the split would not be amicable in court.
Johnny Depp allegedly called Vanessa Paradis an 'extortionist' in an email to Elton John.
During his ongoing defamation trial against his ex-wife, Depp described his relationship with the singer, crediting him for helping him sober up in 2013 and recover from his alcoholism during the early stages of his relationship with Heard.
Heard's lawyers presented an email Depp sent to the singer in which he berates Paradis.
“On the other side of the coin… my kids have fallen head over heels in deep love with Amber (my girl) and that pressure off my shoulders is f***ing gone!!!,” he allegedly told Sir Elton.
“That is unlike the French extortionist (ex c***) attempts to brain wash them against her… which, I'm sure is imminent.”
This reveals a much different side of the relationship he had with Paradis and shows that maybe the $100 million that he had given her during their settlement meant much more than something to help their kids.
Heard's team attempted to use the evidence to counter Depp's allegations that Heard was abusive towards him during their marriage.
However, Depp's defense is that the email was sent before the pair had even gotten married, which means that all of that likely could have changed within the time of their relationship.
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In one specific instance, Depp recalled Heard allegedly telling him that his two children, 22-year-old Lily-Rose and 20-year-old Jack, disliked him and that he was a “bad father.”
Vanessa Paradis defended Johnny Depp against Amber Heard's allegations.
As part of Depp's lawsuit against Heard, Paradis submitted a declaration on her ex's behalf in which she insists that the allegations made by Heard are not in line with her experience with Depp.
“I have known Johnny Depp for more than 25 years,” Paradis wrote in the court documents, which were first reported by The Blast.
“We’ve been partners for 14 years and we raised our two children together. Through all these years I’ve known Johnny to be a kind, attentive, generous, and non-violent person and father.”
“I am aware of the allegations which Amber Heard has publicly accused Johnny of for more than 4 years now,” she continued.
“This is nothing like the true Johnny I have known, and from my personal experience of many years, I can say he was never violent or abusive to me.”
Isaac Serna-Diez is a writer who focuses on entertainment and news, social justice, and politics. Follow him on Twitter here.