Actor Johnny Depp has alleged he is being boycotted in Hollywood, following his high-profile legal battle where his ex-wife Amber Heard reiterated claims he abused her.
Depp says this “boycott” has caused a delay in the release of his movie ‘Minamata’.
The film sees Depp play W Eugene Smith, a reclusive American photographer who is convinced to visit Minamata in Japan in the 1970s and document the devastating effects of mercury poisoning on its citizens. The movie is based on a book of the same name by Smith and his wife Aileen Mioko Smith.
Depp, 58, lamented the delay of the film due to his past troubles and said the story deserves to be told.
“We looked these people in the eyeballs and promised we would not be exploitative,” Depp said in an interview with The Sunday Times. “That the film would be respectful. I believe that we’ve kept our end of the bargain, but those who came in later should also maintain theirs.”
“Some films touch people. And this affects those in Minamata and people who experience similar things,” the actor said. “And for anything… For Hollywood’s boycott of me? One man, one actor in an unpleasant and messy situation, over the last number of years?”
In 2020, Depp had attempted to sue British tabloid ‘The Sun’ for libel after a 2018 article about him and his ex-wife Heard referred to the actor as a ‘wife beater’. The court case revealed shocking details about Depp and Heard’s stormy marriage, with testimony from both sides alleging violence.
However, Depp lost the case when the court ruled that the publication proved the article’s claims to be ‘substantially true’. In March, the ‘Edward Scissorhands’ star lost a bid to appeal the ruling.
Following the case, Depp was dropped from the ‘Fantastic Beasts’ franchise, where he had played Gellert Grindelwald.
However, in his latest interview Depp says he wants to keep going.
“You know, I’m moving towards where I need to go to make all that… To bring things to light,” he said.
