Johnny Depp’s U.S. lawsuit may be ongoing, but he recently lost a libel case he’d filed against The Sun’s parent company. Since then, the brouhaha surrounding Depp and his former relationship with Aquaman star Amber Heard has not died down, as staunch fans have launched petitions and Depp himself has stepped down from his role in Fantastic Beasts 3. He recently even caused some viewers to be offended during an episode of The Great British Bake Off.
The Great British Bake Off, also known as The Great British Baking Show, airs on Netflix in the United States. However, in the U.K. it airs on Channel 4, which means there are advertising breaks. During the recent finale of the popular series, Dior took over some serious ad space and aired an advertisement featuring Johnny Depp strumming on a guitar, an activity Depp is known for doing.
Following the results of the court case, not everyone is on the “Justice for Johnny” train. In fact, a spokesperson for the Advertising Standards Authority revealed that it received a small handful of complaints over the ad airing during the Great British Bake Off episode in question.
We have received a total of 11 complaints about this ad, with the complainants believing that Johnny Depp shouldn’t be in the ad due to details concerning his recent court case.
Eleven complaints isn’t a gigantic number or anything, but it’s not like people are going out of their way to complain about advertisements during The Great British Baking Show on the regular. A report from The Guardian notes that Dior is sticking with the actor as its spokesperson in 2020 despite the high publicity of his various court cases, with that outlet noting “the attitude” toward Johnny Depp varies from place to place right now.
This isn’t the first time a Dior and Johnny Depp ad caused controversy. Another ad the two launched together drew criticism for presenting stereotypical Native American tropes.
Though Dior may still be highlighting the longtime a-lister in an ad campaign, Johnny Depp did lose a role following the loss of his libel lawsuit in the U.K. He notably announced himself that he was asked to step down from Fantastic Beasts 3 despite creator J.K. Rowling having defended the actor previously. Since then, Hannibal actor Mads Mikkelsen has seemingly been brought in to take on the role of Grindelwald in the franchise. Given Colin Farrell has also played the character in the series, this may not play out as oddly as you’d guess on the big screen.
Meanwhile, Johnny Depp also recently lost the chance to appeal his U.K. court case. His second case in Virginia is still ongoing after it was delayed earlier in 2020 due to the pandemic.
