Actor Johnny Depp has opened up about his difficult childhood and how it shaped his approach to parenting. In a recent interview with The Telegraph, the 62-year-old actor spoke about his late mother, Betty Sue Palmer, and the abuse he experienced as a child.
According to People, Depp revealed that his mother would physically abuse him using various objects, including sticks, shoes, ashtrays, and phones. The Pirates of the Caribbean star described the verbal and psychological abuse as being worse than the physical beatings he endured.
“She beat me with a fucking stick, a fucking shoe, an ashtray, a phone, it didn’t matter, man,” Depp said in the interview. “But I thank her for that. She taught me how not to raise kids. Just do the exact opposite of what she did.”
Hs sister confirms childhood abuse and family’s commitment to break the cycle
During Depp’s defamation trial against ex-wife Amber Heard in April 2022, his sister Christi Dembrowski, 64, also testified about their abusive upbringing. She confirmed that their mother would hit them and throw things at them, but noted that Depp never retaliated against their mother.
I'm in the same boat as Johnny Depp, I suffered abuse at the hands of one of my babysitters during childhood, and at the hands of one of my former coworkers during my adulthood, but I won't give up on my plans to be the best mother to my future children.
—Stephanie
Dembrowski shared that both she and her brother made a conscious decision early in their lives to parent differently than their mother. They promised themselves that once they had their own homes, they would never repeat anything similar to their childhood experiences.
Despite the abuse, Depp later maintained a relationship with his mother, who died in 2016 at age 81. According to Dembrowski, Palmer had “softened” as she grew older. Her death occurred just days before Heard filed for divorce from Depp, setting in motion a series of legal battles that would ultimately see Depp vindicated in court years later.
The actor, who is father to daughter Lily-Rose, 26, and son Jack, 23, with former partner Vanessa Paradis, also described how his father remained stoic during his mother’s outbursts. Depp recalled how his father would simply stand and look at Palmer while she delivered verbal attacks, choosing to swallow the pain rather than respond.
