Winona Ryder and Johnny Depp in 1990; Barry King/WireImage(NEW YORK) — Winona Ryder, who was engaged to Johnny Depp in the early 1990s, says she finds it hard to imagine the actor as violent and abusive. In divorce proceedings the actor has been accused of domestic violence by his estranged wife, Amber Heard.
“It’s just hard to picture. The only word I can come up with is unimaginable,” Ryder tells TIME. “You know with certain people you hear something and go, ‘I can see that.’ But this isn’t that.”
Ryder is quick to add that she’s not necessarily doubting Heard’s claims. “It’s like anybody who says anything about it is a victim-blamer,” she said. “I wasn’t there. I don’t know what happened. I’m not calling anyone a liar. I’m just saying, it’s difficult and upsetting for me to wrap my head around it.”
“He was never, never that way towards me. Never abusive at all towards me,” she said. “I only know him as a really good, loving, caring guy who is very, very protective of the people that he loves.”
But, Ryder added, “All I have to offer is my own experience, which was a very, very long time ago.”
Ryder is starring in the upcoming Netflix thriller Stranger Things, which debuts July 15.
Copyright © 2016, ABC Radio. All rights reserved.
