Fury Over Johnny Depp’s Defence Of Mobster Whitey Bulger

The families of the victims of James ‘Whitey’ Bulger have slammed Johnny Depp for defending the actions of the man he plays in new movie 'Black Mass’.

Depp, who transformed himself for the role of the infamous Boston mobster, clearly warmed to his subject while embodying him in the film.

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“There’s a kind heart in there,” Depp told WCVB.

“There’s a cold heart in there. There’s a man who loves. There’s a man who cries. There’s a lot to the man.”

He also told Associated Press: “No matter how good that person is deemed, no matter how bad that person is deemed, by anyone and everyone, my responsibility was to do my best to represent him in a human light.

“No disrespect to any victims or families of victims, but there was some element for me that was kind of glad that he got away. For 16 years he was on the lam and he wasn’t causing any trouble. He was living his life. Good on him.”

Now the families of some of those Bulger killed have reacted with fury over his remarks.

Bill St. Croix’s sister Deborah Hussey was murdered by Bulger in 1985, aged 26.

He told the Boston Globe: “I wonder how Johnny Depp would feel if his sister got strangled and buried in the basement with two other corpses?

“There’s nothing humane about Jimmy Bulger. Shame on [Depp]. That was a very stupid, insensitive comment.”

Patricia Donahue, the wife of Michael Donahue, who was shot to death by Bulger in 1982, added: “I think he should have spoken to the victims before he took on this movie or got the papers from the trial to see how these victims felt and what [Bulger] was really like.

“The people who are human are the people who were killed, not Bulger. He’s a sicko, a psycho.

“This is not Hollywood, this is the real thing here. How can you be glad that someone who killed a lot of people goes on the run? How can you have compassion for that person knowing what he’s done?”

Bulger, 86, is currently serving a life sentence for his part in 11 murders, all while running a huge criminal network which ran from the 70s to the 90s.

He fled from an indictment in 1995, and was on the run for 16 years before getting caught in 2011 in Santa Monica, California, where he was living with his girlfriend, Catherine Greig.

But not all those with a personal interest in the movie have slated Depp.

Tim Connors is the son of Edward Connors, who was murdered by Bulger in 1975. Referring to Depp’s comments, he said: “I guess everybody has at least some good in him, but any good [Bulger] has in him is definitely overshadowed by all the bad he’s done.”

Meanwhile, Detective Lieutenant Bob Long, now retired, and who spent many years chasing Bulger, said: “When I was watching Johnny Depp on the screen, I actually thought I was looking at Whitey Bulger.”

The movie, which also stars Benedict Cumberbatch and Joel Edgerton, is out in the UK on November 27.

Image credits: WENN/Warner Bros/Rex