Depp was answering questions on Wednesday by reporters at the San Sebastian International Film Festival about the loss of Hollywood's favor for new roles ever since his ex-wife, actress Amber Heard, went public with allegations of domestic violence against him.
A British judge last year found the claims to be “substantially correct.”
“It’s a very complex situation, this cancel-culture, or this instant rush to judgment based on essentially what amounts to polluted air,” the 58-year-old actor responded.
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“It’s got so far out of hand that I can assure you, no one is safe. Not one of you, so long as someone is willing to say one thing."
Female filmmakers and other groups had censured the organizer's choice to detect Depp with the Donostia Award, the festival's highest honor, saying it embarrassed the event's image and delivered the wrong message to victims of gender violence.
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Last year, Depp lost a libel case against a British newspaper that attacked him of domestic violence, with the judge on the case ruling the assertions were “substantially correct.” In March, a British court refused Depp's authority to contest the ruling that he attacked his former wife, Amber Heard, saying his attempt to overturn the decision had “no real prospect of success.”
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Depp is also suing Heard for $50 million in Virginia over a Washington Post op-ed essay that she wrote about domestic violence. The trial in that case was recently delayed until April 2022.
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Spain’s Association of Female Filmmakers and Audiovisual Media, which has close ties to the festival, said that awards should not be given based only on professional or artistic achievements.
“What is the message that remains when men denounced for sexist violence are applauded, photographed on red carpets, surrounded by unconditional fans?" the community, known as CIMA, wrote in a Twitter thread in which it recognized the "complexity" of the issue.
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The actor, who played the famous Jack Sparrow in “Pirates of the Caribbean” and leading roles in “Edward Scissorhands” and “Sleepy Hollow,” spoke to reporters hours before the award’s gala. The controversy emerged despite the festival's request for media questions to be constrained to Depp’s career. A press conference moderator blocked a question from a reporter about the CIMA's criticism.
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“It takes one sentence, then there’s no more ground, the carpet has been pulled," Depp said without mentioning Heard or the libel cases.
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“It’s not just me that it’s happened to. It’s happened to a lot of people: women, men, children have suffered from various types of unpleasantries that sadly at a certain point they begin to think it’s normal, that it’s them. It’s not," he said.
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