Legendary actor and film director John Waters (Hairspray, Serial Mom, Seed of Chucky) worked with Johnny Depp on Cry-Baby (1990) when the young actor was at the beginning of his rise to Hollywood stardom.
Now, amid the actor’s ongoing legal battle with ex-wife Amber Heard — in which the Sleepy Hollow star just lost a potentially critical ruling — Waters is speaking out about Depp’s behavior over the years, and is staunchly defending the actor.
“There are people I would like to cancel, but at the same time I’m saying it humorously. I’m not going to go through each person who’s been cancelled and say what I think, but I never saw Johnny Depp act negatively to a woman in my entire life – and I did drugs and got drunk with him.”
Mads Mikkelsen, who took over for Depp as Gellert Grindelwald after he was fired from Warner Bros. Fantastic Beasts franchise, has also shared support for the actor. He previously said he didn’t know if Depp’s firing was “fair,” but that he would do everything in his power to fill the eccentric star’s shoes.
If you haven’t been following the ongoing Johnny Depp vs. Amber Heard case, in November 2020, Hollywood actor Depp lost his libel lawsuit against U.K. News Group Newspaper publication, The Sun, for their report that he had allegedly engaged in domestic violence — including a reported “hostage” situation during a Pirates of the Caribbean shoot in Australia — against the Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom actress on multiple occasions.
British Judge Andrew Nicol presided over the original proceedings, and Depp later lost his right to appeal the original ruling in the United Kingdom. The Jack Sparrow actor, for his part, has denied the domestic violence allegations, with even his ex-partners, Vanessa Paradis and Winona Ryder, speaking out in his defense at various points in time.
Depp has been fired from his two most high-profile parts — his iconic role as Captain Jack Sparrow in Disney’s Pirates franchise and as Gellert Grindelwald in Warner Bros. Fantastic Beasts series — as a result of the ongoing situation.
What do you think about John Waters’s defense of Johnny Depp?