SINKING TO NEW DEPPS
The actor most famous for playing a pirate needs to walk the plank
LAST week, Johnny Depp joked about killing Donald Trump. Specifically, he wondered aloud at Glastonbury music festival: “Whenwas the last time an actor assassinated a president? . . . It’s been awhile and maybe it’s time.”
In answer to his question, it was 1865, when John Wilkes Booth shot Lincoln, and it’s not exactly remembered as a good moment in American history. And though Depp later apologized for the gaffe, it’s led many to wonder if this will end his career.
As for me, I think it’s time to ask an even bigger question — why does Johnny Depp still have a career?
Because, let’s be really clear on this: Johnny Deppis an increasingly incompetent actor whoprobably, in myview, beat his ex-wife. In legal documents filed in May, Depp’s former business managers claim the actor had “gotten physical with Heard” and “violently kicked” her.
That’s information that anyone who’s paid attention to Amber Heard has already surmised. She claimed she was abused a year ago, with a lot of evidence to back up her story.
In fact, Heard did everything women in abusive situations are supposed to do. She kept photographic proof of her injuries. She saved text messages recording conflicts with Depp. She vowed to give away the $7 million she got in the settlement to charities like the Children’s Hospital of Los Angeles to make it clear she wasn’t looking for a payout from her husband.
No matter. Heard still got called a lying gold digger who was trying to blackmail Depp. There may have been so many of those accusations because, according to the same court documents, Depp “pressured and berated his assistant to falsely challenge” her claims.
If you ever wonder why women in abusive relationships are reluctant to come forward, this is why. They get defamed even when they have documented proof.
None of that has stopped Depp from getting cast in a slew of familyfriendly movies like “Sherlock Gnomes” and “Pirates of The Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales.” In a leaked e-mail from Depp to his managers, the actor claimed he is slated to earn $75 million for his next three films.
Historically, a lot of excuses were made for great artists who were also abusive towards women. (Here’s looking at you, Roman Polanski.) But Johnny Depp isn’t a great artist.
Maybe he was a truly great talent before he started spending $30,000 a month on wine (again, according to his former business managers). But for the last decade he’s lurched from failure to mediocrity to failure.
I don’t care how beautiful a film “Edward Scissorhands” was. It came out 27 years ago. “Mortdecai” was released two years ago, and it was so bad that it should have finished off a good man’s career.
Depp’s been given plenty of chances to be above average. Why are we making so many excuses for the guy who brought us “The Lone Ranger,” “Dark Shadows” and “The Tourist”?
Is it because you once loved the swashbuckling Jack Sparrow when he burst onto the high seas 14 years ago? Trust me, there’s another actor out there who can wear a ton of black eyeliner and dreadlocks who doesn’t treat women like crap. If you want him to talk like Johnny Depp, give him $30,000 of wine a month and see what happens.
At the very least, maybe we could try not casting miscreants as role models in kids’ movies. The Harry Potter franchise has done just that, replacing Depp with apparent nice guy Benedict Cumberbatch in the upcoming “Fantastic Beasts” sequels. That’s a great decision on their part. For one thing, Cumberbatch is a good actor in this decade. But it’s more than that. Years from now, if you show your grandkids Depp’s movies — whether it’s the horrible Willy Wonka remake or the terrible fourth installment of “Pirates of the Caribbean” — it’s going to be like your dad playing Bill Cosby tapes right now. It’s going to make people recoil. And not in that smirking, jokey, Jack Sparrow kind of way. Because no one is finding this shtick funny anymore.