The 'Pirates of the Caribbean' actor no longer feels 'boycotted' following domestic abuse allegations because he doesn't 'feel much further need for Hollywood.'
- May 18, 2023
AceShowbiz - Johnny Depp declares he has no "much further need for Hollywood." The 59-year-old actor - who is back to the spotlight for the first time since his defamation court battle with ex-wife Amber Heard last year - returns on screen as King of France Louis XV in new film "Jeanne Du Barry", and he has addressed past comments in 2021 when he claimed he felt "boycotted" by the industry.
"Did I feel boycotted by Hollywood? Well, you'd have to not have a pulse to feel at that point like this was all just a weird joke," he said in a press conference at Cannes Film Festival on Wednesday, May 17.
"Of course, when you're asked to resign from a film you're doing because of something that's merely a bunch of vowels and consonants floating in the air… 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."
Depp - who admitted it had been tough for him to move on as a public figure due to the legal battle - also suggested he was disillusioned with Hollywood as a whole. He explained, "It's a very strange, funny time when everyone would love to be themselves, but they can't because they must fall in line with the person in front of them. If you want to follow that line, be my guest. I'll be on the other side."
Johnny, who successfully sued Amber for defamation in a lawsuit relating to an op-ed she had written about being a victim of domestic abuse, received a seven-minute standing ovation as he arrived at a screening of the new movie.
He has shrugged off the idea that his new role - which sees him speak entirely in French - is a "comeback." He added, "I keep wondering about the word 'comeback,' because I didn't go anywhere. I live about 45 minutes away from here, in fact."
"Maybe people stopped calling out of whatever their fear was at the time, but I didn't go nowhere. I've been sitting around. 'Comeback' is almost like I'm going to come out and do a tap dance - dance my best and hope you approve. That's the notion. It's a bizarre mystery."
