Johnny Depp Hasn’t Changed But Amber Heard Impacts Depp’s Image [Opinion]
Johnny Depp is multifaceted, mega-talented, and compulsively creative. Johnny has a broad range of interests and diverse capabilities that make him completely unique and hard to categorize in any way.
Amber Heard hardly changed who Johnny Depp is in her brief 15-month marriage to the Jack Sparrow actor. Yet his public image has drastically changed in recent months. It is perhaps easier to see Johnny in a different light because he is a man of many faces and many talents.
Johnny Depp can be seen as The Mad Hatter, Hunter S. Thompson, Jack Sparrow, and Edward Scissorhands. He’s been Willy Wonka, Sweeney Todd, and Barnabas Collins. Yes, it is a strange crew of personas and a strange brew in Johnny Depp’s psyche that has taken each character so internally, and portrayed each with such beautiful authenticity.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OmEDedjIOSU&t=7s
Enter Amber Heard, a beautiful 30-year-old starlet who married Johnny Depp. Then, 15 months later, Amber Heard filed for divorce and wanted a restraining order, after the Pirates of the Caribbean star reportedly threw a cell phone at her. Notice, though, this was an iPhone which has an approximate weight of 4-6 ounces depending on the model according to Apple.
Johnny Depp is a creative genius, with plenty of quirks, but is wife-beating really one of them? Both Depp’s ex-wife, Lori Anne Allison, and the mother of his two children Vanessa Paradis were quick to say Amber Heard’s accusations did not match their experiences with Depp. Vanessa Paradis called the story “outrageous.”
Vanessa Paradis, who was Johnny Depp’s partner for 14 years and has two children with him, drafted a handwritten note now posted on TMZ which states her feelings on the issue of Amber Heard’s allegations of abuse.
“To whom it may concern, Johnny Depp is the father of my two children. He is a sensitive, loving and loved person, and I believe with all my heart that these recent allegations being made are outrageous. In all the years I have known Johnny, he has never been physically abusive with me and this looks nothing like the man I lived with for 14 wonderful years.”
Similarly, Johnny Depp’s longtime friend Marilyn Manson stepped forward angrily to defend his friend against Amber Heard’s accusations. Whatever happened between Amber and Johnny, the behavior described is unbelievably out of character, according to those who know him.
Marylin Manson is quoted in the Mirror defending the Hollywood Vampire guitarist against Amber Heard’s accusations of violence.
“Lily-Rose is my goddaughter and I was there when Jack was born, so we go back. Johnny is one of the nicest people that I know – to the extent where it’s almost heartbreaking how kind he is to his friends and everyone around him. I know that he was completely crucified – unjustly.”
Marylin Manson continued defending Johnny Depp against Amber Heard as quoted in the Mirror.
“Of course I think that all of it was bulls**t, and I think that he is a great person. I wouldn’t agree with any of it if someone were to put me on the stand and ask me what I know, or what I’ve witnessed.”
Alice Cooper said Johnny Depp, who lost his mother just prior to Amber Heard’s angry departure, felt Johnny was not showing any real distress about the accusations.
A video, given to TMZ, to “prove” Johnny Depp’s abuse is a rather obvious fake. The actor in the video is wearing a hat and sunglasses in the house and appears to outweigh Jack Sparrow by at least 40 pounds. The film was heavily edited and various tricks were used to make the image of the man alleged to be Johnny out of focus. Amber Heard claimed she did not release the video, and it is doubtful she was even in the video. Her face is never shown.
While Amber Heard’s accusations were not proven, it cast doubts about Johnny’s character that seem to have spurred a strange backlash of bad press after the divorce was granted. People seem to have forgotten who Johnny Depp is, and in many cases they never knew.
Johnny Depp defies categorization. He is unique and has always been uniquely intelligent, uniquely gifted, and unique in his perspective which he shows in his life and his performance arts. Depp had a dual career and was at times deeply involved in both music and acting. Although Johnny is world-famous for his acting, much of his passion lies in music.
Johnny Depp dropped out of high school at age 16, in the wake of his parent’s divorce, to become a rock star. It was his lifelong dream. Depp remained close to his mother Betty Sue Palmer, though, and spent time with her in her final days, moving her into the home with himself and Amber Heard, according to the New York Daily News.
How Amber Heard was received by Palmer has been hotly debated in the press, but what is known is that only three days after the matriarch died, Amber Heard filed for divorce. Did Betty Sue Palmer “hate” Amber Heard, as speculated? It remains unknown, but it seems rather tacky of Amber Heard to file for divorce as Johnny Depp was burying his mother.
The Hollywood Vampires guitarist began his career in music at age 16, at first fronting for several garage bands, before signing with a band known only as “The Kids.” Johnny saw his first taste of success when The Kids opened for Iggy Pop according to JohnnyDepp.com.
Encouraged, Johnny Depp and The Kids moved from Florida to Los Angeles. Sadly the West Coast music scene was terribly competitive in the 1980s. The Kids just couldn’t get a break. Lori Alison, Johnny’s wife at the time, sought out other solutions for her artistically frustrated husband.
Johnny Depp’s first wife Lori Allison suggested Johnny try acting. Though Lori Allison was the makeup artist for the band, she believed Johnny might have a better future in drama.
Unlike Amber Heard, Lori Allison parted amicably with her husband after being married for three years, from 1983 to 1986.
Depp was able to arrange an introduction to Nicolas Cage, and soon landed a role in Wes Craven’s A Nightmare On Elm Street, followed by a small role in Oliver Stone’s Platoon. In 1986 he was chosen to star in 21 Jump Street.
While Johnny Depp’s acting career took off rapidly, The Kids never really made it, despite efforts. Still, Johnny kept his rock and roll dreams alive, appearing in a number of rock videos, including a Tom Petty music video for “The Great Wide Open.” He was part of a band called P, which never really gained a lot of popularity.
Johnny Depp was always a musician at heart, despite his huge success as an actor. For the past two years, the Pirates of the Caribbean actor has been a member of Hollywood Vampires, a supergroup with three hugely famous members. Alice Cooper, Joe Perry of Aerosmith, and Johnny Depp are Hollywood Vampires. They have matching rings and love to wear black leather.
Depp has had an amazingly successful acting career, earning an estimated $650 million over the last 30 years. And he was finally living his rock star dreams, touring with Alice Cooper and Joe Perry last summer.
One of Johnny Depp’s most interesting talents of all is in cultivating very interesting friends. From 1960s gonzo reporter Hunter S. Thompson to Alice Cooper, and of course Marlon Brando, Marilyn Manson, and Tim Burton, there seems to be a sort of dark and fascinatingly mysterious theme to all his completely amazing friends. These friends are a quiet testimony to the Pirates of the Caribbean star’s intellect.
Johnny Depp’s talents do not end there, however. He also does his own interior decorating, for many of the homes he owns around the world. His tastes seem to go to warm colors with exposed wood and stone, at least for the historic property he recently put on the market.
Johnny Depp bought a very rustic 19th-century French village in 2001, which he lovingly restored from a “rough” state according to the Daily Mail. He was careful to preserve the historical structures in their original state. He is now selling the small village near St. Tropez, which once served as his home with Vanessa Paradis. Depp is asking $55 million for the property.
Despite claims by his financial managers that Johnny Depp was too free with his money, it appears he was investing heavily in real estate, much to the chagrin of his financial advisers, who were allegedly mismanaging his money.
While they have brought a counter-suit alleging that Johnny was extravagant in his spending, they were allegedly the ones who were perpetually late in paying his taxes, resulting in millions of dollars in fines, according to the New York Times, who quoted Depp’s lawsuit.
“[The Management Group] engaged in years of gross mismanagement, self-dealing, and at times, actual fraud.”
Johnny Depp is free with his money, though, in that he has given away a lot and spent a lot on real estate. The Hollywood Vampire does own 14 different properties. The New York Times sums up the Pirates of the Caribbean star’s financial handling this way.
“Over the past decade, Mr. Depp has paid more than $5.6 million in interest on overdue taxes, has lent millions of dollars to people unlikely to pay him back and has unwisely purchased a number of questionable investments, not the least of which is that town near St.-Tropez.”
Johnny Depp also purchases a lot of wine — $30,000 a month’s worth, complained his financial managers — but Depp has wine cellars. The home in France at least has an expansive wine vault. The wine is an investment that can grow in value over time, and so will the real estate. Why would one keep $650 million in stocks, bonds, and liquid assets, when one could own their own historic French village?
While the Pirates of the Caribbean actor is a high school drop-out, he managed to earn $650 million dollars on his raw talent and charisma. Depp has befriended a community of geniuses including the highly educated Hunter S. Thompson. He’s also raised two wonderfully talented children, Lily-Rose Depp and Jack Depp.
While Johnny Depp has many talents, accounting may not be one of them. He hired managers and accountants whom he says took advantage of him. Still, his non-liquid real estate assets and his wine investments remain, so just how were these purchases not better invested than the money that was allegedly wasted or lost by his management company?
Johnny Depp is a talented actor and musician with a big heart. Lending money knowing it won’t be repaid is generous, not some poor investment. His acting work earned a lot of money, but looking at his theatrical arts, it was never really about the money was it? It was about art.
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The Pirates of the Caribbean actor was always very selective about the roles he took. He researched each role with a lot of care and he is a perfectionist in his work. Depp is obviously an artist at heart, though he serves as an amazing actor.
Johnny Depp is a loving and generous friend, a kindhearted benefactor to many, and anyone who thinks his purchase and preservation of a decaying 200-year-old village represents a poor investment or poor judgment hasn’t really considered the historic value that might have been lost had he not stepped in to save the property.
Johnny Depp is an amazing actor and passionate musician, and gossip should in most cases be taken with a grain of salt if it doesn’t match common sense.
[Featured Image by Jason Merritt/Getty Images]
