Amber Heard's private investigator reveals why he switched sides and joined team Johnny Depp after interviewing hundreds of people and 'leaving no stone unturned'

Paul Barresi says he is still haunted by nan look connected Amber Heard's look arsenic she gave her now infamous grounds to a U.S. courtroom successful 2022 claiming that her erstwhile partner Johnny Depp sexually assaulted her pinch a vessel of bourbon.

The assemblage was not convinced, returning their unanimous verdict successful Depp's favour. Barresi?

He can't make consciousness of it, and God knows he has tried much than most.

'The point is, I'd seen that look before, connected my mother's face, erstwhile my begetter attacked her,' says nan 75-year-old erstwhile wrestler. He rises to his feet and crosses his California kitchen.

He starts to re-enact what he saw that time successful his ain puerility kitchen, leaping from nan fridge to nan hob, sliding down to nan level arsenic his mother did, aft his begetter had gone for her.

He mimes pots crashing, his begetter lashing out, his mother cowering, terrified for her life. 'My begetter had been drinking. She had poured his intoxicant down nan sink. I was opinionated astatine nan entranceway to nan kitchen, frozen. The look connected my mother's look will ne'er time off maine — and I saw it connected Amber's look that day.'

He shrugs. 'No 1 believed her. And she is an actor. I've wondered if she witnessed thing other — thing to do pinch Depp — that she could telephone on. Still, it troubles me.'

Lest location beryllium immoderate doubt, he still feels nan assemblage returned nan correct verdict. 'I recovered nary grounds that Depp was tin of that benignant of violence.' This, successful a nutshell, is why nan Depp v Heard debacle continues to fascinate, moreover 2 years aft that explosive trial.

Everyone has an opinion. A docu-series astir nan proceedings is trending connected societal media and is presently apical of nan Netflix charts. Armchair detectives are still pulling nan grounds to pieces. The full world still seems to beryllium gripped, and to beryllium taking sides.

But who is Paul Barresi and why should his return connected it matter? Well, he has been correct up to his cervix successful nan evidence, he claims. A heap of it sits connected nan array successful beforehand of him.

'I said to hundreds of people, everything's here,' he says, tapping it. 'Every taped conversation, email conversation. I spent 3 months connected it, near nary chromatic unturned.'

Barresi is nan California-based backstage interrogator who, successful 2019, was hired by Amber Heard's ineligible squad to find nan ungraded connected Depp. Or arsenic Barresi himself puts it, 'I was hired to find grounds to support nan thought that Johnny was a mean-spirited, irascible quality being pinch a proclivity for violence.'

He group astir establishing precisely that — perhaps, he admits now, thinking, moreover subconsciously that successful being capable to 'help' Amber Heard, expected unfortunate of antheral oppression, he was remembering his ain mother and what she suffered. 

'I really wanted to find that,' he says, of his brief, which was to supply nan ammunition that would destruct Johnny Depp. Barresi — a colourful and arguable characteristic — describes himself arsenic a Hollywood fixer. Certainly his erstwhile customer database sounds for illustration a Who's Who of Hollywood. He has worked for aliases connected behalf of Tom Cruise, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Sharon Stone, Eddie Murphy and Gerard Butler.

'I'm nan last-resort man,' he tells me. 'When group person exhausted each nan different options, they travel to me. I'll climb each character I person to.'

Do you person to climb galore trees arsenic a Hollywood backstage investigator? 'I virtually climbed 1 to service papers connected a peculiar shaper that everyone thought was untouchable,' he chuckles. 'When I swung down, connected his carport arsenic he drove in, his boy thought I was a superhero. He said, 'That man is nary friend. Don't speak to him.'

Maybe they should make a Netflix play astir Paul Barresi, because he is arsenic absorbing arsenic immoderate of his clients. He'd style himself arsenic nan hero, obviously, but location are those successful Hollywood who would put him firmly successful nan villain camp. 'Sometimes I run successful nan grey areas,' is really he puts it.

His very introduction into nan Depp-Heard soap opera has conscionable added much foam to nan mix, though.

There was a twist to his duty worthy of immoderate Hollywood blockbuster. Try arsenic he might, he yet grounded to uncover immoderate existent ungraded connected Depp, to nan constituent wherever he switched allegiances.

Barresi has now written (and self-published) a book astir his experiences, which are truthful complimentary it could person nan subtitle: Why Johnny Depp Is A Lovely Guy.

After going nationalist astir his trawl done Depp's life, he received a convey you from Depp himself, via his lawyer, for speaking out. It was different bonzer improvement successful nan Hollywood play to extremity each dramas. Doesn't switching sides, aliases astatine slightest going nationalist astir really location was very small ungraded to beryllium found, break each norm astir what a backstage interrogator does? 'I ne'er signed immoderate non-disclosure agreement,' he says.

So what did his three-month hunt move up? What's striking is really fondly he speaks of Depp, whom he has ne'er met.

Poking astir successful nan recesses of Depp's life — 'doing nan investigation was for illustration going down into nan catacombs' — gave him rather nan insight, though.

No 1 is perfect, and he was a mumbling, fumbling, stumbling drunk,' he says, starting pinch nan worst bits. 'He was obnoxious. He was ungentlemanly astatine times, but a batch of that tin beryllium attributed to nan group pinch whom he associated. I deliberation that they were nan bane of his existence.

'For immoderate reason, and I still don't understand why, he latched onto group that really were nary bully for him.' Are we talking astir nan aforesaid Johnny Depp who erstwhile threatened to group a journalist connected fire? Barresi himself verified this arsenic existent successful his investigations.

'That was a point he said — but I do deliberation he meant it arsenic a benignant of joke.'

Nice feline who sewage successful pinch nan incorrect crowd, then? 'There were group who ne'er had a bad connection to opportunity astir him, but location were besides those who wouldn't talk. So immoderate bully interrogator will spell backmost to nan beginning, because that's ever wherever you find nan truth.'

Convinced that if Depp was a misogynist it would person been evident his full life, Barresi banged connected doors, sent emails, tracked down friends, erstwhile colleagues, aged girlfriends. He says that, fixed nan Heard ineligible squad briefing, location would beryllium ungraded galore to find. And yet no.

Depp was described arsenic a 'gentleman's gentleman' and personification who 'doesn't person a mean bony successful his body', contempt nan disturbing accusations that had been levelled against him. Friends of Depp besides told Barresi that Depp had 'respect and adoration for women' — successful opposition to Heard's claims that he was physically and mentally abusive.

Depp yet mislaid a 2020 libel lawsuit heard astatine nan High Court successful London against a UK newspaper that had branded him a 'wife-beater'. But successful nan U.S. successful 2022, a 2nd libel proceedings successful Virginia against Heard ruled successful Depp's favour, pinch a assemblage awarding him a full of $15million (£11.5million).

Barresi can't beryllium judge astir really overmuch of his 'evidence' was used, but since very small of it was adjuvant to Heard's ineligible team, it's safe to presume not much. But was location a precise constituent astatine which he realised that, emotionally, he was switching sides?

'There was a constituent successful nan investigation where, yes, I thought I had been hired connected a faulty assumption, to look for grounds to beryllium thing that wasn't nan case. But that didn't extremity maine from continuing to activity for Amber. I really did want to do a belt-and-braces occupation connected it. I really wanted to find that Johnny had this successful him.'

That he has called his book Johnny Depp's Accidental Fixer is curious, fixed who was payrolling him.

He does look to person travel to idolise Depp. The much he dug, nan much parallels he recovered pinch his ain life. 'My upbringing was rather akin to Johnny Depp's, actually,' he admits. 'He had a convulsive father. He wanted to escape.' He talks of being moved erstwhile he discovered Johnny's mother had taken retired a loan, which led to nan seizing of nan family's possessions erstwhile they couldn't pay. 'They took his small TV, nan point that had provided him pinch an escape. That touched me.'

Paul Barresi was calved conscionable extracurricular Boston, for illustration Depp to a civilian servant begetter pinch a penchant for aggression and alcohol.

Small successful stature, Barresi began weightlifting to bulk up, and joined nan U.S. military. He served successful Vietnam earlier being discharged successful 1971, erstwhile he became progressive successful nan world of individual training. He worked arsenic a bodyguard and individual trainer for movie movers-and-shakers, and done them, stars, too.

Joan Rivers was an early client. He says she squeezed his pecs and joked that he could train her, too, truthful he did. 'She was a pure-hearted female who put different people's needs earlier her own.'

His preamble to Hollywood due came by chance, erstwhile nan unit of The Wild Party (1975) were filming adjacent his gym. He lingered by nan group and was spotted by nan shaper Ismail Merchant, of Merchant Ivory fame, who asked him if he wanted a job.

'He said he was looking for personification section to enactment arsenic a accumulation assistant, tally errands. They had maine moving round, getting nail polish and artichokes.'

Artichokes? 'Yes, they were for Raquel Welch. I didn't cognize who she was. I was conscionable giving artichokes to a beautiful woman successful a robe.'

Barresi says location was talk of him being successful an orgy segment but nan shaper changed his mind. 'I would person loved to person been successful an orgy segment pinch Raquel Welch. It would person made maine a star!'

He was formed alternatively arsenic a bartender, and was location erstwhile location were discussions astir a segment which progressive Raquel having to guidelines up connected nan bar. How would she get up there? 'I offered to assistance her but she said 'We person choreographers for that'.

Later, she was a small much cordial.' According to Barresi, nan brace 'had a kiss'.

His easy charm — and easy-on-the-eye looks — won him galore admirers, including a shaper who happened to beryllium casting for models to airs for Playgirl magazine. 'It was naked. I was wished to beryllium a superior actor, but asked nan incorrect personification for advice. I should ne'er person done it, but that was really I sewage into taking my apparel off.'

From present it was a hop and a skip into nan big movie industry, which resulted successful his family beautiful overmuch disowning him.

But really connected world do you get from nan porn business into nan backstage detective one? Very easily, he says.

'You person 2 awesome industries successful Hollywood. You person nan movie industry, past you person nan activity industry, which follows nan movie manufacture for illustration nan moon.'

Put simply, he was a feline who knew group — and gossip. One of his large breaks into backstage investigating came erstwhile an aged woman — who happened to beryllium Michael Jackson's maid — appeared connected his doorstep, pinch her caller husband. They brought troubling claims that they had witnessed Jackson sexually maltreatment a young man and wanted him to agent a woody pinch nan National Enquirer, person of activity and sleaze exposes.

'They trusted me,' he says. He recorded their account.

It was perchance explosive stuff, but past nan mates engaged nan services of a lawyer who, he says, tried to 'write him retired of nan deal'. And astatine that constituent Barresi spotted an opportunity for self-advancement, and sent his signaling to an established personage interrogator moving for Michael Jackson's team, saying 'this accusation would beryllium useful for him'.

Much of his personage activity complete nan years can't beryllium reported, either because he has to enactment quiet aliases because his claims are excessively toxic to print. He has been progressive successful very high-profile cases though, erstwhile confronting a stalker connected Sharon Stone's behalf.

During Tom Cruise's messy divorcement conflict pinch Nicole Kidman, Tom's ineligible squad became alert of an individual who had claimed to person had a intersexual narration pinch Cruise.

'There was thing successful it,' Barresi says today. 'But my little was 'Get this kid in. We request to interrogate him. That was nan connection — interrogate, not question'.' After being interrogated, this man dropped nan allegations.

He remains sympathetic — to a constituent — to Amber, but blames nan #MeToo activity for nan truth that this full lawsuit came adjacent to ruining her. 'Amber was sailing precocious but erstwhile she lost, I deliberation it took a small of nan thunder retired of nan #MeToo debate.'

He's still bothered astir that look connected her face, though. Which will hardly extremity nan speculation astir this now long-running soap opera. 

Read Paul Barresi's book Johnny Depp's Accidental Fixer here