Alice Cooper says the actor has never looked better. Photo / Getty
Alice Cooper says the actor has never looked better. Photo / Getty
Johnny Depp's friend and bandmate Alice Cooper has come to his defence amid a number of unfavourable headlines, saying negative press surrounding the actor is "just bull".
Seventies rock star Cooper said he's never seen Depp look happier or better, and said the media have incorrectly painted Depp as going through "total destruction and ready to die".
"All the stuff you heard last year about Johnny, 99 per cent was just bull," Cooper told NME.
"Almost everything I read about Johnny Depp was absolutely untrue. You know, I'm touring with him and it says here in the paper: 'Well, you (Depp) weigh 90 lbs and you're a drug addict and you're drinking and that you're out of money,' and all this stuff." Cooper insists this is not the case, reports news.com.au.
"I've never seen him look better in my life. I've never seen him happier. I've never heard him play better, and the way the press would have it is he's a total destruction and ready to die. Totally not true."
Cooper and Depp play together in the band Hollywood Vampires who are preparing for a tour of the UK. Cooper said Depp wrote the majority of the songs about issues in his personal life.
Alice Cooper with Johnny Depp performing together last year. Photo / Getty
The actor underwent a legal battle with his former staff and business managers, who he accused of fleecing him of millions of dollars.
He settled with The Management Company (TMG) for $AU35 million (NZ $36.2m) in July last year. TMG then counter sued claiming Depp owed them money. The two parties later settled for an undisclosed amount, according to reports.
Depp has also engaged in a long-running feud with his ex wife Amber Heard.
They've called Heard's claims that she is a victim of domestic abuse a "hoax" and say she made up the elaborate narrative to advance her career.
"Ms Heard is not a victim of domestic abuse, she is a perpetrator," the legal case claimed.
"Mr Depp never abused Ms Heard. Her allegations against him were false when they were made in 2016."
Depp's lawyers also claim Heard's writings led to him losing his lucrative ongoing role in the multi-billion dollar Pirates Of The Caribbean franchise.
Depp's lawyers are taking aim at an op-ed Heard wrote for The Washington Post at the end of last year. In it, Heard wrote about a hypothetical man as a "ship".
Depp and Heard went through a spectacular divorce following a two year marriage. Photo / Getty
"Imagine a powerful man as a ship, like the Titanic," she wrote. "That ship is a huge enterprise.
"When it strikes an iceberg, there are a lot of people on board desperate to patch up holes — not because they believe in or even care about the ship, but because their own fates depend on the enterprise."
The pair went through a spectacular separation almost three years ago, that ended in a divorce eight months later. They were married for two years.
Heard took out a domestic violence restraining order against Depp at one point.
They later reached a divorce settlement, where Depp paid $AU10 million (NZ $10.3m) and the couple released a joint statement: "Our relationship was intensely passionate and at times volatile, but always bound by love.
"Neither party has made false accusations for financial gain. There was never any intent of physical or emotional harm.
Heard went on to donate all of the money she received in the divorce to domestic violence charities.
Heard's lawyers have responded to the defamation claim, calling it "frivolous".
"This frivolous action is just the latest of Johnny Depp's repeated efforts to silence Amber Heard. She will not be silenced," said Eric M George, lawyer to Heard.
"Mr Depp's actions prove he is unable to accept the truth of his ongoing abusive behaviour.
"But while he appears hellbent on achieving self-destruction, we will prevail in defeating this groundless lawsuit and ending the continued vile harassment of my client by Mr Depp and his legal team."
