Report: 'Hollywood Has Turned Against' Johnny Depp

3:00 pm, December 8, 2020

Screenshot of Johnny Depp in a black suit standing outside in Fantastic Beasts — (Warner Bros.)

Johnny Depp may have lost his recent lawsuit against a British tabloid, but one magazine says that the defeat has made him an outcast in Hollywood. The rumor claims that the actor is all alone due to the “toxicity” surrounding his situation, but the story comes with some curious details. Here’s what’s going on.

Johnny Depp Kicked Out Of Hollywood?

“Hollywood Turns Against Johnny,” shouts Life & Style. While the outlet acknowledges that Depp is still getting a $10 million payday despite being asked to resign from the Fantastic Beasts franchise, it argues that the “once-unstoppable star is seeing his opportunities dry up,” and he may have to resort to desperate measures to redeem himself and his bank account. An anonymous industry insider tells the outlet,

Hollywood has turned against Johnny. He’s panicking about being a washed-up celebrity and is afraid no one will hire him to work in big-budget movies ever again.

“Execs are scared of the toxicity surrounding Johnny’s name, so many of the projects are now up in the air,” the source claims. “Yes, he’s getting $10 million from Fantastic Beasts, but even that kind of money doesn’t go very far when you’ve been living like he has. Maybe he can do something like a reality show, but that would never pay his bills.”

The other option the star is considering, the snitch explains, would be a memoir of sorts. “He’s considering writing a tell-all book, because it might be the only way to get his side of the story out there.” Labeling him a “real-life villain,” the outlet concludes by noting that Depp’s still holding out for his defamation case against Heard next year.

It’s Not That Simple

Don’t get us wrong, Depp is far from the height of his career, and his next legal battle will likely be just as unpleasant and difficult as his previous one. However, this tabloid’s claims about how alone and despised Depp is by Hollywood don’t add up. Behind every new story about the actor is a wave of support. Despite his legal difficulties, there’s no shortage of co-stars and big names that still praise and compliment Depp, let alone the millions of his dedicated fans. This outlet attempts to paint the situation as a simple black-and-white issue, but most of Depp’s colleagues are quick to acknowledge that the whole thing is incredibly complicated and requires nuance.

Dan Fogler, one of Depp’s Fantastic Beasts co-stars, was extremely honest about his feelings about Johnny Depp’s departure, and while he noted that he wished the production would’ve been able to shift around enough to still include Depp, he pointed out that it was a decision based on the current state of things. It’s a developing situation that isn’t going to instantly clear up, so to treat it as such is pretty much useless.

Stephen Dorff praised Depp’s kindness and talent, but he made sure to acknowledge the fact that the extremely personal nature of Depp’s suits have made the whole thing extraordinary messy. Even Mads Mikkelsen, who will replace Depp in the role of Grindelwald, complimented his “masterful” efforts with the character. There’s also the fact that Penelope Cruz, Vanessa Paradis, and Winona Ryder have come to his defense. While his reputation has undoubtedly been affected by this entire process, Depp is no pariah.

There’s Some Important Context Missing

Life & Style is infamous for its bold — and wrong — predictions and rumors about Hollywood. It’s actually reusing a narrative that first appeared in one of its issues from this summer that declared, “Hollywood Turns Against Tom Cruise.” The tabloid and its industry insiders were certain that Cruise was leaving Hollywood, but it was totally off-base.

Both stories looked an awful lot like poor attempts to capitalize on the fact the wave of then-recent headlines about Thandie Newton calling working with Cruise a “nightmare” rather than legitimate insight from actual sources. In 2019, the tabloid was certain that Blake Shelton and Gwen Stefani were going to be totally out of Tinseltown, but in the months since, they’ve kept up their busy careers and have arguably only grown in star power. A year before that, it was sure Gwen Stefani was going to retire from show business.

In another couple of weeks, we wouldn’t be surprised to see this tabloid move on to claiming that some other big-name celebrity will be gone from the spotlight. We just can’t find any reason to pay heed to this latest piece of Life & Style‘s gossip. Instead, we’ll stick to monitoring what actually happens in the upcoming case and Depp’s future career.