Though we’re not yet into Thanksgiving season, Johnny Depp is sharing what he has to be thankful about—and one of those things is loyalty.
The loyalty of French fashion house Dior, that is. The 60-year-old actor told the South China Morning Post in an interview this week that he will be “forever in debt” to the brand for sticking by him “through every single second” of the tumultuous and public legal battles between Depp and his now-ex wife, Amber Heard, 37.
Johnny Depp Dropped By Disney, Warner Bros., And More During Amber Heard Battle
The loyalty exhibited by Dior to Johnny Depp throughout the star's legal battle with Amber Heard was in sharp contrast to other big-name brands that cut ties with the Oscar nominee in face of the public turbulence, including Disney—who dropped Depp from the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise, in which he was still starring as fan-favorite pirate Captain Jack Sparrow—and Warner Bros., who axed the actor from the Fantastic Beasts franchise after portraying the villain Grindelwald in the series' first two films.
The cuts came after an op-ed penned by Johnny's ex-wife Amber Heard appeared in The Washington Post alleging the star had abused her during their 4-year relationship. Depp responded to the claim by suing Amber for defamation, eventually resulting in an explosive trial (televised live and recounted in Netflix's docuseries Depp v. Heard) in which a Virginia jury found in June 2022 that Heard and Depp were both liable for defaming each other. The ex-couple eventually settled their defamation suits against each other late last year.
Dior Remained Loyal To Depp Despite Acrimonious Legal Troubles
Johnny Depp has been a brand ambassador for Dior since 2015, appearing in a short film to promote the brand's Sauvage fragrance in 2019. Despite other big brands severing ties with the Ed Wood actor, Dior notably did not terminate Depp's brand ambassadorship before, during, or after the trial, even re-confirming their support by signing a new multifigure contract with him in 2022, reported to be in the seven-figure range.
The actor told the South China Morning Post in a wide-ranging interview about his brand ambassadorship earlier this month that he has "never been more touched or prouder" than of the fact that Dior "stuck with me through every single second [of the trial]...that gesture is so noble and so rare!" Depp added, "I thank every single person involved in making the decision to trust me and stick with me all the way from the bottom to the top and back down. I will forever be in their debt, I will forever be loyal....they’re actually truly a class act. I mean, that’s strength, that’s class, that’s brave, it’s courageous. Dior will always mean much more to me than just Sauvage."
