Johnny Depp has received support from a women's abuse organisation led by the former Miss Italy.
Depp and Amber Heard's high-profile case has been making headlines across the world, with every man and his dog seemingly having an opinion about the trial.
Celebrities and legal experts have also been weighing in, and Depp has now received the support of Mission NGO, a non-profit organisation that 'supports women and children worldwide, defending their rights and protecting them from physical, sexual, and psychological abuse through education and activism'.
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Mission NGO founder and former Miss Italy, Valeria Altobelli, said Depp has the organisation's 'compassion'.
In a statement, she said: "Violence is a serious topic. As women, as mothers, we have the duty and the responsibility to educate our sons and daughters, that's to say, the future generation, in the light of the values of dialogue, respect and compassion between men and women, without any gender distinction, in order to prevent violence with the weapons of love and education.
"In deep respect of the victims of domestic abuses that we have to affirm for intellectual honesty are, generally, WOMEN, we feel to express, as women, as mothers, as free thinkers, our compassion for Johnny Depp in this bad page of his personal history."
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In an open letter, she added: "As women, we have compassion and we feel empathy not for THE star, THE talent, THE actor but for a man, a father, a worker, A HUMAN.
"Mental Health is something we have to care about to live in a positive environment where women and men can love and respect each other without any kind of abuse and violence. We are human and we have to find the HUMANITY we are born to live for."
By contrast, Countdown star Rachel Riley said on Twitter that she wouldn't wish Depp on her 'worst enemy'.
Depp is suing Heard for $50 million (£38.2 million), and she has issued a counterclaim for $100 million (£76.4 million).
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The pair began dating after meeting on the set of 2011 film The Rum Diary and got married in 2015. Heard obtained a restraining order against Depp the following year and they finalised their divorce in 2017.
Asked about her decision to file for divorce from Depp in May 2016, Heard said in court earlier this week: "I knew if I didn't I'd likely not literally survive.
"I was so scared that it was going to end really badly for me and I really didn't want to leave him, I loved him so much.
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"I would have done anything but I couldn't do that one thing, I couldn't stay."
In 2020, Depp lost a libel case brought against The Sun over an article in which he was labelled a 'wife beater'. He has denied all allegations of abuse.
The trial continues.
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Topics: Celebrity, Johnny Depp, Amber Heard, US News