Johnny Depp headlines over the last couple years may have had more to do with the large lawsuits he’s been involved in than his body of work, but the actor has begun the process of attending events and doing interviews once more. Over the past couple of months, he’s attended a couple of film festivals and even famously spoke out about his feelings regarding “cancel culture.”
The recording in question came from the testimony Johnny Depp’s ex-wife Amber Heard made as part of a libel lawsuit in the U.K. The lawsuit was actually filed by Depp against the parent company of tabloid outlet The Sun, which had used the word “wife beater” to describe the actor in a story. Amber Heard’s testimony became a focal point of the case, and ultimately Johnny Depp lost the libel lawsuit. The two celebrities are also suing one another for defamation in the U.S.
The moment reportedly came during a press conference at the San Sebastian Film Festival. At the time, Depp was answering questions related to being the recipient of this year’s Donostia Award. It’s unclear who played the recording during the interview, according to ScreenDaily. But what was played was this comment from Amber Heard:
It has been incredibly painful to relive the break-up of my relationship, to have my motives, my truth questioned and the most traumatic and intimate details of my life with Johnny shared in court and broadcast to the entire world.
Johnny Depp doesn’t seem to have responded to the incident, though it is also alleged by the outlet that a second question from Spain’s Association of Female Filmmakers was allegedly blocked from being posed to the actor. The question they wanted to ask? It reportedly had to do with how Depp felt about their objections to him receiving the festival award.
Ultimately, Johnny Depp did not shy away from what has been going on with his career over the last couple of years. The loss of the prominent lawsuit in the U.K. led to him being replaced as Grindelwald in Warner Bros.’ Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them. In the upcoming third movie, Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore, Mads Mikkelsen will take on the role.
If you were to ask Depp, he might say this had to do with “cancel culture.” At the same event he touched on the concept, calling it an “instant rush to judgment.” Johnny Depp hasn’t been in a big screen role since Minimata’s release during the pandemic. He’ll next appear as an animated TV character in the TV project Puffins.
