Johnny Depp says ‘I don’t need Hollywood anymore’ at Cannes

CANNES, France — Appearing at the Cannes Film Festival a day after the premiere of his first film in three years, Johnny Depp said Wednesday that he “no longer needs” Hollywood.

After the premiere of “Jeanne du Barry” in which he played King Louis XV, Depp faced questions from the media in a rare public appearance. The film, directed by and starring McEwan, is Depp’s first film since a jury largely sided with him in his legal dispute with ex-wife Amber Heard last year.

Part of Depp’s argument in the 2022 defamation trial is that he lost his job because of Heard’s allegations. Heard was ordered to pay Depp $10 million in damages to justify his allegations that Heard lied about Depp abusing her before and during their short-lived marriage.

“Do I feel boycotted by Hollywood? You have to have no pulse to be like, ‘No. None of this is happening. It’s a weird joke,'” Depp told reporters. “When you’re asked to quit a movie you’re making because something is just a function of vowels and consonants floating in the air, yes, you feel resisted.”

Depp was most notably asked to exit the Harry Potter spin-off series Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them. Now, though, he says he’s not interested in returning to a studio project.

“I don’t feel boycotted by Hollywood because I don’t think about Hollywood. I don’t have much further demand from Hollywood myself,” Depp said. “It’s a weird and funny time where everyone wants to be able to be themselves, but they can’t. They have to be consistent with the person in front of them. If you want to live that life, I wish you the best of luck.”

The “Jeanne du Barry” press conference was one of the most circus-like in Cannes in recent years. The press conference started unusually late, with McWaugh and the rest of the cast present, but no Depp. He arrived about 20 minutes after the press conference and quickly became the center of attention.

Depp has called much of what has been written about him in recent years “fantastic, scary fiction.”

“It’s like asking the question: ‘How are you?’ But the subtext is, ‘God, I hate you,'” Depp said.

Some have questioned whether Cannes should have given Depp such a prominent platform. Asked how he would respond to the criticism, Depp drew a comparison that few people feel that way.

“What if one day, they don’t allow me to go to McDonald’s for the rest of my life, because somewhere there are 39 angry people watching me eat a Big Mac in a circle?” Depp mused. “Who are they? What do they care?”

“Jeanne du Barry” opened in French cinemas on Tuesday. It’s not currently released in the US.

“Obviously, I’m making my 17th comeback,” Depp said. “I’ve been thinking about the word ‘comeback’.” I wasn’t going anywhere. In fact, I live about 45 minutes away. Maybe people stopped calling out of fear at the time. But I didn’t go anywhere. “