Johnny Depp is currently suing the U.K. tabloid The Sun and his estranged wife Amber Heard for libel, but in the course of the first day of testimony, Elton John‘s name came up.

According to the Daily Mail, during his testimony, Depp spoke about how he got sober after his breakup with his long-time partner, actress Vanessa Paradis, with whom he shares two children. 

“I got sober…and remained sober…I can’t remember exactly how long but it was a long while,” Depp said.  A lawyer for The Sun then referred to an email that Depp sent March 22, 2012, to Elton John with the subject line “100 days.”

The email read, “My dearest Elton, 100 f****** days of clarity for an old reprobate t**t like me. No one would ever have believed it possible but for a select few, most importantly you.”  He also wrote, “I would have been swallowed up by the monster were it not for you.” 

Depp said that by “the monster,” he meant “death.”

The actor, who struggled with substance abuse for years, has known Elton since he was young. The music legend has been instrumental over the years in helping a number of celebrities get clean and sober.  He said recently, “If I help people with [my] AIDS Foundation, if I help people with my music or help people get sober and clean…that’s the least I can do.”

According to the Daily Mail, Heard’s lawyers have painted Depp as someone who repeatedly attacked her while high or drunk — and The Sun referred to him as a “wife-beater.”  But Depp has countered that Heard is a “narcissistic sociopath” who physically attacked him multiple times.  Both Paradis and Depp’s former girlfriend Winona Ryder are set to give testimony at the trial.

By Andrea Dresdale
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