At the Cannes press conference for “Jeanne du Barry,” the costume drama that kicked off the 76th edition of the festival, Johnny Depp made a rare public appearance. Following his high-profile court struggles with his ex-wife Amber Heard, the actor takes on his first main part in a film in three years. Depp seemed to be conflicted over his lengthy sabbatical from Hollywood films as he reemerged into the spotlight.
“Did I feel that Hollywood was shunning me? To feel like “No,” you would need to be pulse-free. All of this is not taking place. On Wednesday, he told the reporters, “It’s a bizarre joke. “Yes, you feel boycotted when you’re asked to leave a film you’re working on over something that is merely a function of vowels and consonants floating in the air.”
Depp was apparently alluding to a continuation of the “Fantastic Beasts” spinoff series, which he left in 2020. The A-list celebrity who earned more than $10 billion at the box office globally left the Warner Bros. movie amid PR difficulties, forgoing an eight-figure payment.
I don’t feel like Hollywood is avoiding me because I don’t think about Hollywood, he said. Everyone would like to be able to be themselves, but they are unable to in this bizarre and humorous moment. They have to follow the person in front of them in queue. I wish you the very best if you decide to lead that life.
Heard was forced to pay Depp $10 million in damages after the actor prevailed in a defamation lawsuit in the United States. He was previously expelled from “Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore” in 2022 after losing a 2020 U.K. libel action over Heard’s assault accusations. Not everyone cut ties with the star after his numerous scandals. The troubled singer was supported by the opulent French fashion label Dior, who gave him a gigantic $20 million-plus contract—the biggest ever in the history of men’s fragrance.
Heard’s name was never specifically mentioned at the press conference, but references to their legal dispute kept coming up. Depp delivered a hypothetical response when asked by a Variety reporter what he would say to individuals who believe he shouldn’t attend Cannes because of his prior legal troubles.
“What if one day they did not allow me — under no circumstances, no matter what — [that] I cannot go to McDonald’s for life because somewhere if you got them all in one room it’d be 39 angry people watching me eat a Big Mac on a loop just for fun,” he mused. who they are. What makes them care? Some type of animal and a stack of mashed potatoes blocked their computer screen’s light. Anonymous. with what seems to be less spare time. We shouldn’t be concerned, in my opinion. Really, people ought to consider what the point is. Really.“
Earlier in the press conference, Depp also spoke about his disdain of the media, who intensely covered his trials with Heard and fallout from Hollywood. “The majority of what you read is fantastically, horrifically written fiction. It’s like asking the question: ‘How are you doing?’ But the subtext is, ‘God, I hate you.’”
The notion that Cannes represents his “comeback” to cinema was likewise rejected by him. I’ve supposedly made 17 comebacks, he said. “I continue to ponder the phrase ‘comeback. I did not travel.Perhaps individuals stopped crying out because of whatever their current concern was. However, I didn’t get nowhere.
Due to Depp’s traffic delays, the press conference for “Jeanne du Barry” began without him and more than 40 minutes after it was scheduled to.
