Johnny Depp No Longer Needs Hollywood

Hollywood star Johnny Depp, who received a seven-minute standing ovation for his latest movie, “Jeanne Du Barry” at the Cannes Film Festival, told journalists at the French fest he is done with Hollywood and took aim at the media, saying what has been written about him is “fiction.”

During a press conference on Wednesday, the acclaimed star said, “Did I feel boycotted by Hollywood? Well, you’d have to not have a pulse to feel at that point like this was all just a weird joke,”.

He added, “When you’re asked to resign from a film you’re doing because of something that’s merely a bunch of vowels and consonants floating in the air.” But he didn’t seem to finish the sentence.

Depp was fired from his role in the “Fantastic Beasts” franchise amid his legal battle with ex-wife Amber Heard.

“Do I feel boycotted now? No, not at all. But I don’t feel boycotted, because I don’t think about Hollywood. I don’t feel much further need for Hollywood,” he said.

Depp’s appearance in the high-profile French movie has been described as a “comeback” by many, but he doesn’t see it that way.

“I keep wondering about the word ‘comeback,’ because I didn’t go anywhere, maybe people stopped calling out of whatever their fear was at the time, but I didn’t go anywhere,".

He continued, “Saying ‘comeback’ is almost like I’m going to come out and do a tap dance — dance my best and hope you approve.”

The trial between Depp and his ex-wife drew public attention and he seemed to take issue with what has been written in the press.

“The majority of you who have been reading for the last five or six years, with regards to me and my life — the majority of what you’ve read is fantastically, horrifically written fiction,” he added.

The French biographical drama “Jeanne Du Barry” received a standing ovation as the festival’s opening movie on Tuesday night. Depp plays King Louis XV and speaks French in the role.

He walked the red carpet arm-in-arm with the movie’s director and actress, Maïwenn — who plays the king’s lover —, and the pair held hands as they entered the theater to audience applause.

The outing marks the Oscar nominee's first public appearance since his highly publicized defamation trial against ex-wife Amber Heard, who accused him of abuse. It is also Depp's first movie since his trial with Heard. 

Cannes director Thierry Fremaux previously defended his decision to include Depp in the festival and open with his movie, saying Depp is extraordinary in the film and he paid no attention to the trial.

“To tell you the truth, in my life, I only have one rule, it’s the freedom of thinking, the freedom of speech and the freedom to act within a legal framework,” said Fremaux. “If Johnny Depp had been banned from acting in a film, or the film was banned we wouldn’t be here talking about it.”