CANNES, France (AP) – Appearing at the Cannes Film Festival the day after the premiere of his first film in three years, Johnny Depp said on Wednesday that he had “no further need” of Hollywood.
After the premiere of “Jeanne du Barry”, in which Depp King Louis XV. plays, Depp made a rare public appearance to answer press questions. The French film, directed and starring Maïwenn and starring a French-speaking dork, is the actor’s first film since a jury broadly supported his legal battle with ex-wife Amber Heard last year.
Part of Depp’s argument in that 2022 defamation trial was that he lost his job over Heard’s allegations. Heard was ordered to pay Depp $10 million in damages, confirming his claims that Heard lied about Depp abusing her before and during their brief marriage. Heard also received $2 million.
“Do I feel like I’m being boycotted by Hollywood? You wouldn’t have to have a pulse to feel, “No.” None of that happens. “It’s a weird joke,” Depp told reporters. “When you’re asked to withdraw from a film you’re making because something is merely a function of vowels and consonants floating in the air, you feel boycotted.”
Depp was specifically asked to step down from the Harry Potter spin-off franchise, Fantastic Beasts. However, he now says he has no interest in returning to studio projects.
“I don’t feel boycotted by Hollywood because I don’t think about Hollywood. I myself don’t have a great need for Hollywood anymore,” said Depp. “It’s a weird, fun time when everyone would like to be themselves but can’t. They must match the person in front of them. If you want to live this life, I wish you the best.”
Jeanne du Barry opened in French cinemas on Tuesday. There is no US distribution yet.
The Jeanne du Barry press conference was one of the most circus-esque in Cannes in recent years. The press conference started unusually late and with Maïwenn and other cast members, but without Depp. He arrived after about 20 minutes and quickly moved into the limelight.
Depp called most of what has been written about him in recent years “amazing, terribly written fiction.”
“It’s like asking the question, ‘How are you?’ But the subtext is, ‘God, I hate you,'” Depp said.
Some have debated whether Cannes should have offered Depp such a prominent platform. When asked how he would react to such critics, Depp drew a comparison that suggested few people think like that.
“What if one day they wouldn’t let me go to McDonald’s for life because there were 39 angry people somewhere watching me eat a Big Mac all the time?” Depp mused. “Who are you? What do you care?”
“I apparently had my 17th comeback,” said Depp. “I keep wondering about the word ‘comeback’. I haven’t gone anywhere. In fact, I live about 45 minutes away. Maybe people stopped shouting out of fear back then. But I didn’t go anywhere.”
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Follow AP film writer Jake Coyle on Twitter at: http://twitter.com/jakecoyleAP
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