Johnny Depp says 'no one is safe' from cancel culture: 'It's not just me'

Johnny Depp, who last year lost a libel case against a tabloid that dubbed him a wife beater, has some thoughts about cancel culture.

The actor spoke about "this cancel culture" and "this instant rush to judgement based on what essentially amounts to polluted air" on Wednesday at the San Sebastian Film Festival, where he received an honorary award, Deadline reports.

"It's so far out of hand now that I can promise you that no one is safe," Depp said. "Not one of you. No one out that door. No one is safe. It takes one sentence and there's no more ground, the carpet has been pulled. It's not just me that this has happened to, it's happened to a lot of people."

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up

The Pirates of the Caribbean star last year lost a libel case against the British tabloid The Sun, which called him a "wife beater" in reference to allegations that he abused his ex-wife Amber Heard. Depp has denied the allegations and says that Heard was the one who abused him. He's currently suing her for defamation. After Depp lost his libel lawsuit, he was asked to step down from his role as Grindelwald in the Harry Potter prequel films Fantastic Beasts. That part will now be played by Mads Mikkelsen.

At the festival, Depp also urged his fans to "stand up" for "injustice, whether it's against you or someone you love, or someone you believe in," per Deadline. He also acknowledged he was worried that his presence there would be controversial, saying he "didn't want to offend anyone" but that "I haven't done anything" and dismissing "some notion of me that doesn't exist." His comments came on the same day that the Fantastic Beasts franchise announced the title and new release date for the sequel that Depp was removed from.