Johnny Depp says he was like “a crash test dummy” for the #MeToo movement.
In a new interview with the Sunday Times, the 62-year-old actor reflected on how his career and personal life were affected by his legal battle with ex-wife Amber Heard, 39.
“I’ll tell you what hurts,” Depp told the Times. “There are people, and I’m thinking of three, who did me dirty. Those people were at my kids’ parties. Throwing them in the air. And, look, I understand people who could not stand up [for me], because the most frightening thing to them was making the right choice.”
He continued, “I was pre-MeToo. I was like a crash test dummy for MeToo. It was before Harvey Weinstein. And I sponged it, took it all in. And so I wanted from the hundreds of people I’ve met in that industry to see who was playing it safe.”
“Better go woke!” Depp added.
Depp sued Heard for defamation over a Washington Post op-ed in which she discussed domestic abuse without naming him. The June 2022 verdict sided with the Pirates of the Caribbean actor, though Heard won one of three counterclaims.
“Six years ago, my life, the life of my children, the lives of those closest to me, and also, the lives of the people who for many, many years have supported and believed in me were forever changed. All in the blink of an eye,” Depp wrote in a message on social media at the time.
“And six years later, the jury gave me my life back. I am truly humbled. … From the very beginning, the goal of bringing this case was to reveal the truth, regardless of the outcome. Speaking the truth was something that I owed to my children and to all those who have remained steadfast in their support of me. I feel at peace knowing I have finally accomplished that,” he concluded.
Following the verdict, Heard said the outcome “sets back the idea that violence against women is to be taken seriously.”