Christi Dembrowski and Johnny Depp spent much of their childhood moving around to different homes between Kentucky and Florida, along with their other siblings, Daniel and Debbie Depp. The Depp children grew up in a violent household at the hands of their mother, Betty Sue Palmer, who often fought with their father, John Depp, according to Dembrowski’s testimony in Johnny’s 2022 defamation trial with Amber Heard. While on the stand, Dembrowski explained what she and her siblings, including the “Cry Baby” actor, witnessed as they were growing up. “We would run and hide. … She would hit us. She would throw things,” she testified (via People).
In a 2013 interview with Rolling Stone, the actor gave insight into what he experienced in his home as a child. “It was a relatively violent upbringing. If you did something wrong, you got hit. If you didn’t do something wrong, you got hit. But my parents, they did the best they could with what they knew,” Johnny revealed.
When she was finally old enough to leave, Dembrowski moved out of the house when she was 17 years old, got married, and became pregnant, Insider reported. Despite their difficult upbringing, she revealed in court that their mother was less aggressive as she grew older and Dembrowski, along with Johnny, helped take care of Palmer up until her death in May 2016, per ET.
If you or someone you know may be the victim of child abuse, please contact the Childhelp National Child Abuse Hotline at 1-800-4-A-Child (1-800-422-4453) or contact their live chat services.
