Johnny Depp says "no one is safe from cancel culture” while collecting film festival award

Johnny Depp has claimed he is a victim of “cancel culture” during a press conference at San Sebastian Film Festival.

Depp was at the festival to collect the event’s highest honorary award, the Donostia award. The decision sparked backlash for the festival who described Depp as “one of contemporary cinema’s most talented and versatile actors.”

The actor recently lost a bid to overturn a libel case that concluded he assaulted his ex-wife, Amber Heard. The libel case in question was with the UK Sun who labelled him a “wife beater.” He addressed the issue in a press conference at the festival.

“No one is safe” from “cancel culture,” he said. He also asked that people “stand up” for those facing “injustice.”

“It can be seen as an event in history that lasted for however long it lasted, this cancel culture, this instant rush to judgement based on what essentially amounts to polluted air,” said Depp, Deadline reported.

“It’s so far out of hand now that I can promise you that no one is safe. Not one of you. No one out that door. No one is safe,” he added.

“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,” he continued. This type of thing has happened to women, men. Sadly at a certain point they begin to think that it’s normal. Or that it’s them. When it’s not.”

Depp was dropped from Warner Bros Fantastic Beasts franchise after the verdict in the libel case. The actor has a $50 million dollar defamation lawsuit scheduled to go to trial against his former partner in the US next year.

Later in the press conference, Depp said he was “worried” that his presence at the festival would cause controversy, adding that he “didn’t want to offend people.” The actor praised the event and its director Jose Luis Rebordinos along with the mayor of San Sebastian.

Depp thanked them for their “undying support” and for “not buying what has been, for far too long, some notion of me that doesn’t exist.

“I haven’t done anything, I just make movies,” Depp added.

The 58-year old targeted Hollywood in August and said his latest film Minamata was boycotted by the US. In an interview with The Sunday Times the American said he “looked [those] people in the eyeballs” and promised the film would not exploit the real tragedies that took place.

“Some films touch people… and this affects those in Minamata and people who experience similar things,” he said. “And for anything… for Hollywood’s boycott of, erm, me? One man, one actor in an unpleasant and messy situation, over the last number of years?”