Johnny Depp Had A Complicated Relationship With His ‘Violent’ And ‘Cruel’ Mom But Doesn’t Blame Her

Jul 11, 2022 by apost team

Johnny Depp has an incredible rags-to-riches story. The Hollywood icon is the youngest of four children and was born on June 9, 1963, to Betty Sue Palmer and John Depp. During his childhood, Johnny's family moved frequently. In an interview with Oprah, Johnny estimated that he moved about 40 times before he was 15. Along with the constant moving, Johnny's childhood was filled with financial strife and verbal and physical abuse.

At age 16, he dropped out of school and moved to Los Angeles a couple of years later to pursue his music career. While in L.A. he befriended a young Nicholas Cage, who persuaded him to start acting. Johnny rose to fame in the mid-1980s when he landed his debut role as Glen Lantz in "A Nightmare on Elm Street."

Throughout his career, the 59-year-old has won the hearts of millions. According to ScreenRant, some of his most memorable performances include the following: his portrayal of Captain Jack Sparrow in the "Pirates Of The Caribbean" franchise, Edward in "Edward Scissorhands" and Ichabod Crane in "Sleepy Hollow."

His acting abilities contributed largely to his financial success. Forbes ranked the academy award-winner as one of Hollywood's highest-paid actors. According to Celebrity Net Worth, Johnny has a net worth of $150 million. To date, his highest-paying role is also one of his most memorable ones. According to The Things, Johnny was paid $68 million to play the Mad Hatter in "Alice and Wonderland." 

Although Johnny has used his impressive talents to turn himself into a millionaire, trauma from his chaotic upbringing still affects him in his present day. 

From the way he's described his upbringing, it appears that Johnny's mother, Palmer, was the root of the majority of problems in his childhood. The "Pirates of the Caribbean" star opened up about his tumultuous childhood during his defamation trial against ex-wife Amber Heard. Johnny described his mother as "violent" and "cruel." Further in his testimony, he detailed the extent of the abuse he and his siblings faced at the hands of their mother. 

"The verbal abuse, the psychological abuse, was almost worse than the beatings," he recalled. "The beatings were just physical pain. The physical pain, you learn to deal with. You learn to accept it. You learn to deal with it."

In an interview with Rolling Stone, Johnny described the beatings he endured by his mother as "irrational." He explained that Palmer sometimes used items to beat her children, like "an ashtray" or a "phone." Johnny referred to his childhood home as a "ghost house," because everyone was fearful of Palmer.

"It was a ghost house — no one talked.," he told the outlet. "I don't think there ever was a way I thought about people, especially women, other than 'I can fix them.'"

Johnny's desire to "fix" the women in his life stemmed from his complex relationship with his mother. Despite the physical and emotional pain that Palmer inflicted on her children, Johnny catered to her. During the interview, Johnny recalled childhood memories of his mother returning home from work. Palmer worked as a waitress and often worked double shifts; Johnny remembered pampering his mother by rubbing her feet while she counted her tips.  

"Betty Sue, I worshiped her," Johnny said. "She could be a real bitch on wheels."

apost.com

Once Johnny's acting career took off, he brought his mother a house. The house was a small horse farm near Lexington, Kentucky. This was one of Johnny's first big purchases. Johnny loved his mother unconditionally. According to Hollywood Life, in 1988, the "21 Jump Street" actor got his mother's name tattooed on his left arm. His parents also joined the "Alice in Wonderland" star when he received his star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1999. 

Despite the abuse that he endured in his youth, Johnny does not blame his parents for his troubled upbringing. In a Rolling Stone interview, the actor explained that he believed his parents did the best they could "with what they knew." Palmer passed away on May 20, 2016. According to Entertainment Tonight, Palmer died from a "long-term illness." She was 81 years old.  

Palmer and her relationship with her children were far from perfect. In an interview with Rolling Stone, Johnny explained how his mother's chaotic upbringing laid the foundation for his own childhood turmoils. 

"My mother was raised in a shack," he said. "She used to say she did the same things that her mom did — and her mom certainly didn't know any better."

By understanding how his mother's past affected her children, Johnny vowed to break the cycle and parent his two children, Lilly-Rose Depp and Jack Depp, differently.

"With my kids, they're told 75 times a day that they're loved," Johnny said. "One thing I know is they feel loved and secure and happy and needed and necessary and a part of something."

What do you think about Johnny Depp's relationship with his mother? Let us know, and feel free to send this to your family and friends.