Originally appeared on E! Online
Johnny Depp is reflecting on his early years.
While detailing the pain he has felt throughout his life, the “Pirates of the Caribbean” star alleged that he experienced abuse from his mom Betty Sue Palmer when he was a child.
“She beat me with a f—— stick, a f—— shoe, an ashtray, a phone,” Depp said in a July 5 interview with The Telegraph, “it didn’t matter, man.”
Despite the alleged abuse — which he also shared will testifying during his 2022 defamation trial against ex Amber Heard — the “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory” actor noted that his experience with his mom influenced his own mindset when it came to his kids Lily-Rose Depp, 26, and Jack Depp, 23, who he shares with ex Vanessa Paradis.
“I thank her for that,” he continued. “She taught me how not to raise kids. Just do the exact opposite of what she did.”
Depp has previously shared insight into his life as a dad, including the aspects of the role he loved the most: Raising his kids out of the spotlight in France.
READ Johnny Depp Shares Rare Insight Into Raising Kids Lily-Rose Depp and Jack Depp
“I was Papa,” he told The Sunday Times in an interview published June 21. “I cannot tell you how much I loved being Papa.”
But once the family began spending more time in Los Angeles, Depp — who split from Paradis in 2012 after more than a decade together — explained, “Then, suddenly, Papa was out the window. I was Dad.”
Still, the family’s time together in Europe was special to him.
“Truly, the first time I felt I had a home was the place in the south of France where Vanessa and I raised the kiddies,” Depp shared. “That’s the only place that ever felt like home.”
Now that his kids are older, the 62-year-old noted there’s potential to return to the “Papa” moniker.
“I’m getting old enough for Papa to possibly come back,” Depp quipped in regard to potentially becoming a grandfather. “Some motherf—– going to have to call me Papa!”
PHOTOSVanessa Paradis, Lily-Rose Depp, Johnny Depp
Johnny Depp sat down with The Sunday Times for a wide-ranging interview in which he discussed raising his two kids, Lily-Rose and Jack, with ex Vanessa Paradis.
