Johnny Depp is being welcomed back into the fold swiftly. After a strange appearance at the MTV Video Music Awards in which his face was superimposed onto the award show's iconic astronaut mascot, Depp is reportedly appearing in Rihanna's upcoming Savage X Fenty show.
As confirmed by IndieWire, the actor will be appearing in the show as part of its "star" moments, making him the first male "star" to model the brand's men's collection. Alongside Depp, the show has a stacked list of runway appearances byCara Delevingne, Taraji P. Henson, Bella Poarch, Kornbread "The Snack" Jeté, Rickey Thompson and Precious Lee. Performances includeAnitta, Burna Boy, Don Toliver and Maxwell.
Rihanna's decision to invite Depp has earned criticism on the internet. Hollywood has picked up Depp immediately following the highly publicized defamation case against ex-wife Amber Heard, who came forward to detail the abuse she suffered at the hands of the Pirates of the Caribbean star. The court ruled in Depp's favor and believed that he sufficiently proved that Heard defamed him with the accusations of abuse.
In over 6,000 pages of unsealed court documents that surfaced in August after Depp supporters crowdfunded the money to obtain them, they show that his legal team attempted to submit Heard's nude photos as evidence as well as her past as an exotic dancer. There were also texts alleging that Depp kicked Heard on a flight, and his legal team attempted to implicate Heard in the car accident that killed her friend.
In light of the unsealed documents, many people began unliking Depp's Instagram post rejoicing in his legal victory. That hasn't stopped Depp from returning to the public eye. Recently, he was cast as King Louis XV in French director Maiwenn’s Jeanne du Barry. Depp will also return to direct Modigliani, co-produced alongside Al Pacino.
Depp's casting shocked many Rihanna fans, who brought up the abuse she faced at the hands of ex-boyfriend Chris Brown. Rihanna also previously created a grant for domestic violence survivors alongside ex-Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey. When Ari Fletcher appeared to dismiss and mock abuse victims on Instagram live, Savage Fenty removed her from their website.
\u201crihanna going out of her way to, like, rehabilitate the image of a domestic abuser and rapist is fucking crazy cause the hell is johnny depp, a rapidly decaying corpse, going to do at a LINGERIE SHOW? but even past all that does she even know her audience?\u201d— sk (@sk) 1667489061
\u201cif a pic of johnny depp in lingerie ever gets through my vision I'll need rihanna to compensate me with 2 billion dollars\u201d— ggedon (@ggedon) 1667469526
However, people who uphold Depp's innocence see Rihanna's casting decision as an act of solidarity.
\u201cher supporters are now trying to diss/ cancel rihanna for collaborating with johnny depp. you\u2019re all forgetting that rihanna is also a domestic violence survivor who is able to recognise other victims. she\u2019s so real for this honestly <3.\u201d— molly 17 (@molly 17) 1667488854
\u201c\u201cOur sources say Rihanna and her team invited Johnny to be a part of it, and both sides were super excited to make it happen.\u201d\n\nRihanna reached out to Johnny Depp. One survivor to another\ud83d\udc94\u2764\ufe0f\u2764\ufe0f\u201d— TheRealLauraB\ud83c\udf0a\u2694\ufe0f (@TheRealLauraB\ud83c\udf0a\u2694\ufe0f) 1667472416
In the unsealed court documents, Depp said he never suffered from a "specific physical or mental injury" at the hands of Heard.
Photos courtesy of Matteo Prandoni and John Salangsang/BFA