The 'Pirates of the Caribbean' actor cautions against 'instant rush to judgement' as he receives a special award at the San Sebastian Film Festival in Spain.

• Sep 23, 2021

AceShowbiz - Johnny Depp called on people to fight against "this instant rush to judgement" during a press conference at the San Sebastian Film Festival in Spain on Wednesday (22Sep21).

The movie star, who is being honoured for his body of work at the event, claimed he is a victim of cancel culture and cautioned "no one is safe."

He condemned "this cancel culture, this instant rush to judgement based on what essentially amounts to polluted air," at the festival, where he was given the 2021 Donostia Award.

"It's so far out of hand now that I can promise you that no one is safe... It takes one sentence and there's no more ground, the carpet has been pulled," he continued.

"It's not just me that this has happened to, it's happened to a lot of people. This type of thing has happened to women, men. Children have suffered from various types of unpleasantries," the "Pirates of the Caribbean" stated.

"Sadly, at a certain point, they begin to think that it's normal. Or that it's them. When it's not."

Depp was dropped from the latest "Fantastic Beasts" sequel after losing a high-profile libel case with publishers at U.K. newspaper The Sun last year (20) over an article in which he was called a "wife-beater."

The piece was written following allegations of abuse from Depp's ex-wife Amber Heard, who testified against the actor in court.

The judge overseeing the case ruled against the plaintiff, calling the newspaper's allegations "substantially true."

At the press conference Depp added, "It doesn't matter if a judgement, per se, has taken some artistic licence. When there's an injustice, whether it's against you or someone you love, or someone you believe in - stand up, don't sit down. 'Cause they need you."

Depp is currently pursuing a defamation lawsuit against Heard, which is scheduled to go to trial next year.

Meanwhile, there was drama at the press conference when one journalist asked Depp to address the criticism festival bosses had received for naming him the recipient of their highest honour, the Donostia. The host of the conference shot the question down and urged the media to stick to questions about the actor's career.

Depp later admitted he was concerned his presence at the festival would "offend people," insisting, "I didn't want to offend anyone."