Johnny Depp has been mobbed in London as his rehabilitation following the Amber Heard scandal continues apace, aided by an American porn star turned PI who has gone to war with the actor's ex-wife and her supporters.
The Pirates of the Caribbean star, who turned 61 last month, even kissed the hands of a superfan waiting for him outside a venue in the capital this week.
Johnny's bodyguard stepped in when a woman refused to let go of him.
But the megastar, who is living in London to paint, told his protection to step back before kissing her hand, causing squeals in the crowd, who had pictures, artwork and even limbs signed by the American.
'Johnny Depp's very public rehabilitation is going strong - while Amber has vanished and is living in Madrid', one senior figure with links to London and Hollywood told MailOnline today.
His London appearance was hours after Paul Barresi, the private eye hired by Amber Heard when she split from Johnny to find dirt on him, released a new book where he claims his investigation found Depp to be too generous with a 'respect and adoration for women'.
And it came as the Depp v. Heard Channel 4 documentary began trending on Netflix Netflix, reflecting the continuing fascination with the couple's relationship as well as their divorce and legal battles in the UK and US.
Johnny Depp kisses the hand of a fan in London this week as his rehabilitation continues
Mr Depp also allowed the fan waiting for him in the British capital this week to kiss his hand
The star's security stepped in when the woman wouldn't let go of him, but the actor told his bodyguard it was 'ok' and he kissed her hand
Depp lost his defamation trial in the UK, but a second libel trial in Virginia against Heard would rule in his favor, with a jury awarding him a total of $15million in damages. Amber is now living in Spain having apparently quit Hollywood
It has been quite the turnaround for Depp - four years after he lost a libel case in the UK against the publisher of The Sun over a story that described him as a 'wife beater'. He did then sue Amber in the US for libel over similar allegations - and won $15million in damages.
The former couple have gone in different directions.
Amber is understood to have quit Hollywood and settled in the Spanish capital with her three-year-old daughter - born thanks to a surrogate.
In his new book, 'Johnny Depp's Accidental Fixer', Paul Barresi, 74, reveals his shock at the tremendous amount of support towards the actor amid his legal battle against ex-wife Amber Heard
Her ex-husband, however, now has four careers.
Currently he is renting an art studio in London’s West End to create new art - having not painted seriously for years.
He is in the middle of a three-year $20million contract as the face of Dior's Sauvage men's perfume.
He is also a gigging guitarist, appearing on stages around the world including at the Royal Albert Hall with friends including Rod Stewart and Eric Clapton.
And his acting is back up and running. He was the star of last year's Cannes Film Festival because of his role in the French-language biopic Jeanne du Barry, where he played King Louis XV.
He is also directing his first movie in 25 years. Depp is working with Al Pacino on a biopic of Italian artist Amedeo Modigliani.
Screenwriter and producer of the swashbuckling franchise Pirates of the Caribbean, Terry Rossio, has told DailyMail.com that now that Depp has cleaned up his act he would be welcomed back as Jack Sparrow with open arms.
Previously Depp said he would never work for Disney again as sources said he felt harshly treated by them. It will remain to be seen if his stance has softened.
While he could not escape the shocking court cases involving Amber Heard untarnished, his fans have remained loyal to him - as proved by the scenes in London this week.
Mr Barresi is a former adult film actor turned P.I. and Hollywood fixer whose previous clients include Arnold Schwarzenegger , Tom Cruise and Sylvester Stallone. He claims Amber and his supporters have fought to bring him down
Today the one-time private investigator hired by Amber Heard's legal team to dig up dirt on Johnny Depp admitted he was stunned at the amount of unwavering support towards the actor while he had been facing abuse allegations.
Paul Barresi, a pensioner and former porn star, said that during investigation into the star that the 'one fault I found in Johnny... was the overwhelming generosity he extended to countless individuals who had 'no deserved right to it'.
He also has gone to war with Ms Heard's supporters, calling them 'nut jobs' and 'vicious mentally ill conspirators' who are out to ruin his life.
In his new self-published book, Johnny Depp's Accidental Fixer, released on July 5, Mr Barresi, 74, recalls interviewing 100 people ahead of Depp's libel trials against his ex-wife, only to find that the majority were still on the star's side.
They described Depp as a 'gentleman's gentleman' and as someone who 'doesn't have a mean bone in his body', despite the disturbing accusations that had been leveled against him.
Friends of the Pirates of the Caribbean star also told Barresi that Depp had 'respect and adoration for women' – in contrast to Heard's claims that he was physically and mentally abusive.
Johnny Depp's massive fan base stood by the actor as he fought the abuse allegations leveled against him by ex-wife Amber Heard during their explosive defamation trial in Virginia in 2022
Heard's team hired the former private investigaor in July 2019 to turn up information that could be useful in her case against Depp, indefamation trials in the UK and the US
But according to Barresi, a former adult film actor turned P.I. and Hollywood fixer whose previous clients include Arnold Schwarzenegger, Tom Cruise and Sylvester Stallone, he had embarked on an 'unwavering quest for the truth' about Depp, even if the findings were not what Heard's lawyers wanted.
Barresi was first hired by Heard's team in July 2019 to turn up information that could be useful against Depp, ahead of both defamation trials in the UK and the US.
Depp ultimately lost the 2020 libel case heard at the High Court in London against a UK newspaper which had branded him a 'wife-beater', with a judge ruling he had put Heard in fear of her life.
But back in the US, a second libel trial in Virginia against Heard ruled in Depp's favour, with a jury awarding him a total of $15million – $10million in compensation and $5million in punitive damages.
Barresi does not specify which case he was working on, only that he was given the instructions to 'delve into the life and history of Johnny Depp and uncover evidence of his alleged physical abuse towards women'.
He was told to dig up witness statements, videos, photos or anything else that could substantiate Heard's claims against Depp.
But once Barresi began speaking to Depp's associates, he found that the picture was more positive than Heard's lawyers had hoped for.
Brad Furman, the director of 2018 crime thriller City of Lies, was among those who disputed some of the allegations that had been leveled against Depp over the years.
The Hollywood star was sued in an unrelated case for assault, by the film's location manager Gregg Brooks in 2017.
Johnny Depp supporters argue with an Amber Heard supporter outside of a Fairfax County Court House May 27, 2022
The crew member claimed Depp had become violent with him on the set of the movie.
Brooks's personal assistant Miguel Guittierrez backed him up and said Depp offered Brooks $100,000 to punch him in the face and then punched Brooks twice in the lower torso.
But Furman disagreed with this and told Barresi the fight didn't get physical and Depp has 'always been delightful'.
A set production assistants also said Depp was 'lovely' and a retired LAPD officer who was working on the film said the fight was 'trivial' in his view.
When Barresi suggested that Depp was violent, model and actress Carre Otis scoffed at the idea and said it was 'ridiculous', he writes in the book.
Former child star Olivia Barash, who worked at famed Hollywood nightclub, The Viper Room, which Depp owned in the 1990s, echoed those sentiments, claiming 'Johnny doesn't have a mean bone in his body'.
Richmond Arquette, of the Arquette acting clan, who worked at the Viper Room too, called Depp 'a gentleman's gentleman'.
Barresi widened his net and spoke with others who had known Depp for years.
They included the singer Chuck Weiss who said: 'In my presence, Johnny has always demonstrated respect and adoration for women'.
Journalist Seven McDonald rebuffed Barresi's efforts to dig up dirt on Depp, saying she never knew the actor to be threatening.
Brooks also claimed Johnny's 'intoxication and temper created a hostile, abusive and unsafe work environment,' on the set of City of Lies
She said: 'I don't think I can help you. Johnny is a sweet man. I've never seen him be violent – in fact, just the opposite. Johnny Depp is the type who would crawl down a drainpipe to save a kitten from drowning'.
Perhaps the most forthright to defend Depp was tattoo artist Jonathan Shaw, a close friend of the actor.
He told Barresi: 'Johnny is super controlled, and a superhuman being.
'The only thing I would be willing to help that gold- digging w***e (Heard) do is help load the gun she wanted to use to blow her f****** brains out'.
Barresi does include some unflattering accounts of Depp.
Journalist Mark Ebner recounted how Depp threatened to 'set (him) on fire' during an encounter at the Viper Room which even Barresi says was a 'chilling preclude' to Depp's now infamous text to his actor buddy Paul Bettany about burning Heard, a detail that came out at the trial in Virginia.
The ex-wife of Depp's close buddy Isaac Baruch said that Baruch was a 'manipulator' and that he and Depp are 'birds of a feather'.
But overall Barresi came away with admiration for Depp and said he felt a 'deep empathy for his struggles and triumphs'.
His research allowed Barresi to understand the 'complexities of his character', he writes.
Barresi writes: 'Through this journey, I aimed to honor our shared humanity, shedding light on the man behind the myths and offering a narrative grounded in genuine understanding and compassion.'
