At the Black Mass TIFF premiere, Johnny and Amber kissed for the cameras. They do this a lot, and I have always suspected that Amber overcompensates because she knows people side-eye the relationship. In addition, there are regular stories about how Amber makes Johnny offload reminders of Vanessa Paradis, which may or may not be true in the sense that she made him sell his yacht. Johnny does have a large overhead with several homes, a private island, two children, and a wife with expensive tastes to maintain. If he’s trying to offload assets to balance out his up-and-down box-office appeal, that make sense. I also doubt Amber wants to board a vessel named after his ex, so she’s a convenient scapegoat for the tabloids.

The new issue of Star says Johnny and Amber argued like crazy behind the scenes at TIFF, and that the kiss was a deliberate move to hide a temper tantrum from Amber:

At the Sept. 14 premiere of Johnny Depp‘s new film Black Mass at the Toronto International Film Festival, photographers captured the passion on the red carpet between the star and his wife, Amber Heard, who kissed and cuddled for the cameras.

But away from the shutterbugs, a source says, the newlyweds got hot and bothered in a different way. Amber, 29, hovered near her hubby as he schmoozed, and when she saw him chatting with a young woman, the source says, “she stormed over and tried to butt in.”

When Johnny, 52, continued the conversation, she “looked livid” and quickly pulled him aside. The source says, “She talked to him like a child. Johnny smiled awkwardly and seemed to calm her down, because the next minute they were holding hands again and she was all smiles.”

According to the insider, this volatility is nothing new for the couple, who wed in February and bicker about everything from his female fans to Johnny’s recent weight gain. She’s bothered so much that Amber has begun dictating his diet. “She says he looks like a mess now,” says the source.

“Amber is very loving toward Johnny — but if things aren’t the way she wants, all hell breaks loose,” the insider says.

Friends who’ve witnessed the actor bend to Amber’s controlling ways are wondering what happened to his rebellious spirit. “He’s blinded by love,” the source says. “He’ll do anything she wants — and she knows it.”

[From Star magazine]

I don’t have much problem believing that Amber would talk to Johnny like a child, and he’d just take it with a wry grin. He’ll do anything to stay married to her, but she doesn’t need to worry about him running off with some young lady from the red carpet. It could be that Amber grew livid at the thought of Johnny acting like a fool and embarrassing her (or inadvertently starting gossip by talking to a girl). This marriage sounds like a disaster, but they’ll probably hang on for at least a few years.

Oh, and here’s a photo of Eddie Rebel Johnny performing with his Hollywood Vampires supergroup in Rio last week.

Photos courtesy of Fame/Flynet & WENN