Johnny Depp has claimed he has become a victim of cancel culture, warning that ‘no one is safe’ and urging those affected to ‘stand up’ for themselves.
Speaking in the Spanish city of San Sebastian, before accepting an honorary award at the film festival, Depp, 58, said the situation had become ‘so out of hand.’
In July he lost a high-profile case at the High Court in London, after The Sun newspaper described him as a ‘wife beater’ and he sued. His ex-wife Amber Heard filed for divorce in 2016, accusing him of verbal and physical abuse, and she testified in London.
Back in the U.S., Depp has recently won the right to proceed with a $50 million defamation lawsuit against Heard.
Depp told the audience in Spain that he saw himself as a victim, and was concerned about the wider implications for society.
Johnny Depp, 58, claimed on Wednesday that he is a victim of cancel culture – speaking in Spain, ahead of accepting the prestigious Donostia Award at the San Sebastian Film Festival
Depp has won the right to sue Heard (pictured in November 2011) in a $50 million libel case after a Virginia judge threw out the actress’s plea to dismiss the suit
Ahead of taking to the stage to accept his award, Depp offered his thoughts on cancel culture, and called on people to ‘stand up’ for those facing ‘injustice.’
‘It can be seen as an event in history that lasted for however long it lasted, this cancel culture, this instant rush to judgement based on what essentially amounts to polluted air,’ he said, according to Deadline.
‘It’s so far out of hand now that I can promise you that no one is safe. Not one of you. No one out that door. No one is safe.
‘It takes one sentence and there’s no more ground, the carpet has been pulled.’
Depp said that his concern was not just for himself.
‘It’s not just me that this has happened to, it’s happened to a lot of people,’ he said.
‘This type of thing has happened to women, men.’
The actor vowed that ‘no one is safe’ from the movement because it has become ‘so out of hand,’ as he arrived for a photo call during the awards ceremony
Ahead of taking to the stage to accept his award, Depp offered his thoughts on cancel culture, and called on people to ‘stand up’ for those facing ‘injustice’
Depp said: ‘It can be seen as an event in history that lasted for however long it lasted, this cancel culture, this instant rush to judgement’
Depp was reported by Deadline to be happy to answer questions about the recent state of his career, amid his ongoing lawsuit against Heard.
But when a reporter asked about Spain’s Association of Female Filmmakers and Audiovisual Media, which released a statement saying the award ‘transmits a terrible message to the public’, a festival organizer stepped in and prevented him replying, insisting he would only speak about his career.
Depp later said that he was ‘worried’ that his presence at the festival would ‘offend people,’ and insisted he ‘didn’t want to offend anyone.’
He praised the event, its director Jose Luis Rebordinos, and the mayor of San Sebastian for their ‘undying support’.
He thanked them for ‘not buying what has been, for far too long, some notion of me that doesn’t exist’.
Depp added: ‘I haven’t done anything, I just make movies.’
Depp added: ‘It’s so far out of hand now that I can promise you that no one is safe. Not one of you. No one out that door. No one is safe’
The actor went onto say: ‘It takes one sentence and there’s no more ground, the carpet has been pulled,’ and claimed it’s happened to ‘a lot of people’
Despite the mixed reception to his arrival at the festival, Depp was in high spirits as he headed to the photocall ahead of his acceptance of the award.
It comes after Depp was cleared by a court to proceed with a $50 million defamation suit against Amber Heard.
In August, a Virginia judge ruled that he can proceed with the litigation, based on a 2018 Washington Post op-ed she penned saying she was a domestic violence survivor.
She did not mention Depp in the story, though she publicly accused him of abusing her in their 2016 split.
Depp later added that he was ‘worried’ that his presence at the festival would ‘offend people,’ and insisted he ‘didn’t want to offend anyone’
The actor is trying to clear his name after losing a defamation suit against The Sun after the paper branded him a ‘wife-beater’ amid allegations of domestic abuse.
His suit, filed in Fairfax County, Virginia, accuses Heard of creating a ‘hoax’ account; Heard had requested the libel suit against her, filed in March 2019, be thrown out, claiming the ruling in the UK case should swing any new cases in her favour because they both relate to domestic abuse allegations against Johnny.
But Judge Penny Azcarate ruled the statements made by The Sun and Amber were ‘inherently different.’
Despite the mixed reception to his arrival at the festival, Depp was in high spirits as he headed to the photocall ahead of his acceptance of the award
It comes after Depp was cleared by a court to proceed with a $50 million defamation suit against ex-wife Amber Heard
The ruling stated: ‘The Sun’s interests were based on whether the statements the newspaper published were false.
‘[Heard’s] interests relate to whether the statements she published were false.’
The ruling also noted that Depp filed the defamation suit against The Sun before Heard’s op-Ed was published – and that she was not named in the case against the British paper.
In the December 2018 op-Ed, the actress wrote: ‘I became a public figure representing domestic abuse, and I felt the full force of our culture’s wrath for women who speak out.’
In August, a Virginia judge ruled that he can proceed with the litigation, based on a 2018 Washington Post op-ed Heard wrote
The actor is trying to clear his name after losing a defamation suit against The Sun after the paper branded him a ‘wife-beater’ amid allegations of domestic abuse
The UK’s High Court ruled against Depp following an explosive three-week trial last July, finding allegations the actor was a ‘wife beater’ were ‘substantially true.’
Lawyers for The Pirates of the Caribbean star had asked two Court of Appeal judges to grant permission for him to challenge the ruling, with the aim of having its findings overturned and a second trial ordered.
They claimed the judge in Depp’s initial libel trial had not ‘factually’ considered all the allegations of violence against him and that they had ‘fresh evidence’ Amber had ‘lied’ about giving her entire $7 million divorce settlement to charity.
They said that the charity claim influenced how her testimony was viewed, but the Court of Appeal ruled that it did not have an impact on the judge and that he would have reached the same conclusion on Heard being the victim of domestic violence.