Johnny Depp Says He Doesn’t Feel Boycotted By Hollywood – Deadline
Refresh for updates…A humbled and defensive Johnny Depp spoke up at the Cannes press conference this AM for the fest’s opening night film Jeanne du Barry. Not only was he moved by the standing ovation in the Grand Theatre Lumiere, but he also referred to the wake of the Amber Heard trial headlines (without pointing to it), exclaiming, “In regards to me and my life, the majority of what you’ve read is fantastically horrifically written fiction.”
Asked by Deadline whether he still felt boycotted by Hollywood, feelings he expressed back in an August 2021 Sunday Times interview, the 3x Oscar nominee answered, “Did I feel a boycott? You have to not have a pulse to feel this isn’t happening. Of course when you’re asked to resign from a film because of something which is merely a bunch of vowels and consonants in the air.”
“I don’t feel boycotted by Hollywood,” said Depp, “I don’t think about Hollywood. I don’t need Hollywood.”
“It’s a very strange funny time where everybody would like to be themselves, but they can’t,” said Depp winking at the #MeToo times.
“Many people stopped calling, I didn’t go away,” said Depp how everyone is referring to the French movie, which opened yesterday as a comeback.
Asked by a reporter how he felt about the controversy surrounding his presence at Cannes, specifically those who didn’t want him here at the 76th edition, Depp answered, “What if they said to me, I cannot go to McDonalds for life because somewhere if you got them all in one room, 39 people saw me watching me eat a Big Mac on a loop. Who are they? Why do they care? Some species or tower of mashed potatoes covered in light from a computer screen? Anonymous.”
In Jeanne du Barry, Depp plays Louis XV while filmmaker Maiwenn stars as his newly recruited mistress, Countess Jeanne du Barry.
The actor discused Maiwenn’s bravado in selecting a non-French actor to play King Louis. The director mentioned that she had already went out to some French actors who passed, but found Depp an anamoly, not only given how long he’s lived in France, but also his deep knowledge about the country’s politics, art, and cinema. “He know more about Louis VX then I did,” the filmmaker admitted.
“I was surprised to be chosen for this role,” said Depp, “Yeah, I thought someone had made a terrible mistake.”
“Maybe you want to try a French guy as king Louis,” said the actor, “She thought about it for a second. I thought about it for a second. It was brave of her to choose some hillbilly from Kentucky…”
Off screen from playing her naughty title character, Maiwenn, admitted in a recent TV interview to assaulting Mediapart editor-in-chief Edwy Plenel which entailed pulling back his hair and spitting on him in a Parisan restaurant.
“She’s outspokenly anti-#MeToo and she made a gesture to please her world, and that’s why she bragged about it on TV. We could see a sort of pride that echoed that world,” Plenel blasted about Maiwenn in a recent Variety interview about the altercation.
