The eccentric actor Johnny Depp has played villains and heroes and has been called both villain and hero in real life. After several tough years — being shunned by many in Hollywood and scorned by fans of his ex-wife Amber Heard, who pressed forward with a high-profile defamation case (and lost) — Depp is again on top of his game.
His latest film, “Jeanne du Barry,” premiered at the Cannes recently. Depp was in attendance and was surprised and elated to receive a warm welcome and a seven-minute standing ovation.
Following the premiere, Depp met with the press and took the opportunity to share his thoughts on the media and Hollywood.
Depp noted that during the defamation trial, he felt boycotted by Hollywood and was made to feel like a pariah after reading spurious accounts in the media. Regarding his treatment by the media, Depp stated that what he read about his life in the press amounted to “fantastically, horrifically written fiction.”
When asked if he felt boycotted, Depp said: “Did I feel boycotted by Hollywood? … When you’re asked to resign from a film you’re doing because of something that is merely a function of vowels and consonants floating in the air, yes you feel boycotted.”
Emboldened by his recent success at the Cannes, Depp slammed Hollywood saying: “Do I feel boycotted now? No, not at all. But I don’t feel boycotted because I don’t think about Hollywood. I don’t feel much further need for Hollywood — I don’t know about you.”
The hugely successful “Pirates of the Caribbean” franchise star also swiped at mean-spirited and unfiltered social media hate, saying that few are bold enough to take a stand for and speak against the person with the largest microphone.
“It’s a very strange,” Depp said, “everybody would love to be able to be themselves. But they can’t. Because they must ‘fall in line’ with the person in front of them. You wanna live that kind of life, I wish you the best,” Depp said. “I’ll be on the other side somewhere.”
Depp blasted the media for turning his life into “fiction.” The Daily Wire reported that Depp accused journalists today as being “akin to someone asking a simple question — like wondering how he was doing — but always having a devious ulterior motive.”
“The majority of you who have been reading for the last five or six years,” Depp said, “with regards to me and my life — the majority of what you’ve read is fantastically, horrifically written fiction.”
The actor added: “The fact is, we’re here to talk about the film. But it’s like asking the question, ‘How are you doing?’ But what’s underneath in the subtext is, ‘God, I hate you.’ That’s the sort of media thing.”
Depp maintained that journalists should focus on the film, not the artist, referring to other stories as “all the stuff that you can stuff your shoes with — or line your parrot cage with — I mean it’s boring, isn’t it? Aren’t you guys sick of it by now? It’s weird. Hundred thousand dollar bird sings unrecorded Beatles songs … you’ll get it later, I promise.”
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