There was a time when Johnny Depp was one of the biggest movie stars in the world – commanding at least $20 million per film.
But he’s fallen by the wayside in recent years due to accusations his now ex-wife, Amber Heard, of domestic violence.
Now his latest project was accused of “cultural appropriation” and Johnny Depp blasted those critics.
Johnny Depp used to be the most sought after actor for serious Oscar worthy roles. Depp was the go-to guy for projects of that caliber and really his only competition was Leonardo DiCaprio.
As of late, however, while Depp is still considered to be an A-list actor, it won’t be for very much longer and his career will start emulate that of Nicolas Cage or John Travolta. Depp isn’t even close to being worth what he once was just like Cage and Travolta, who now only command $2 million per movie.
Part of it may be the controversy surrounding his domestic violence accusations by his now ex-wife Amber Heard, but you shouldn’t be shocked to learn that it’s his behavior on set is the real reason for his downfall.
Rumors have swirled the last few years that his alcoholism has been a problem when his productions are shooting and he also consistently shows up late like he did on “Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales,” where he would hold up the crew for two hours before finally showing up. During principal photography, time is money; the production is spending inordinate amounts of money every minute something isn’t on schedule.
In recent years, a lot of Depp’s movies have bombed in the box office. Some of them you’ve probably never heard of because the theatrical release was so small like “The Professor,” “City of Lies” and “Yoga Hosers.” Heard of any of them?
One thing Depp does get paid a lot of money for doing are the “Dior: Sauvage” commercials – a cologne company. They make very bizarre extremely artsy niche commercials featuring Depp.
And last month, teasers of Dior’s “We Are the Land” came under fire. The videos were branded as “an authentic journey deep into the Native American soul.” One of the clips showed a woman wearing a wolf skin and a man dressed in traditional Native American dancing in the desert.
A lot of people noted it was offensive to Native Americans and some argued that the term “sauvage” is actually a slur against the indigenous peoples.
But Depp was asked about it recently during an interview with The Hollywood Reporter where he said, “There was never — and how could there be or how would there be — any dishonorable [intent]. The film was made with a great respect for the indigenous people not just of North America, but all over the world. It’s a pity that people jumped the gun and made these objections. However, their objections are their objections.”
This is that social justice cancel culture Dave Chappelle was making fun of in his most recent Netflix special “Sticks and Stones,” where the standup comedian put everybody on notice that if you’re offended, then you’re being overly sensitive.
On the other hand, you really do have to take Depp and the filmmakers at their word that the intent was to be celebratory of Native Americans and not the other way around.
Depp added, “I can assure you that no one has any reason to go out to try to exploit. It was a film made out of great respect and with great respect and love for the Native American peoples to bring light to them.
They haven’t had the greatest amount of help out of the United States government. The idea is as pure as it ever was, so we will come to an agreement so that everyone is happy.”
The “Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas” actor has a really strong track record of donating money to help Native Americans so it’s a little odd that a cologne commercial is getting this kind of backlash.
Also, he literally played Tonto in the most recent Disney movie “The Lone Ranger.”
There was no outrage over that.