Seeing Johnny Depp again in the middle of a promotional tour on our screens was not necessarily part of our 2026 bingo card. Even less finding him as a distinguished guest among the students of the Star Academy.
However, in a few days, TF1 offered the American actor two choice showcases: a meeting with the academicians, broadcast this Friday, November 6, then an interview on the 8 p.m. news, this Sunday. All for the promotion of Scrooge, Ti West's film expected in French theaters this Wednesday, November 11. For the 63-year-old star who said she was excluded from Hollywood, the weekend's spotlight once again undermines the myth of broken careers.
If his career does not seem “broken”, it has certainly been weakened. To get back to the facts, in 2016, Amber Heard filed for divorce, citing domestic violence, and obtained a restraining order. As NBC News recalls, “after Johnny Depp's defeat in 2020 in his libel trial against the British tabloid The Sun, Warner Bros. asked him to leave the Fantastic Beasts franchise. The newspaper called the actor a “wifebeater,” an allegation the judge found “substantially true.” For the actor, associated for years with the big Hollywood machines, a break took place: “I was rejected, fired, fired, canceled,” he declared to the Telegraph, as if the entire industry had suddenly closed its doors to him…
HuffPost recalls, however, that the actor was the headliner of Jeanne du Barry, by Maïwenn, presented at the opening of the Cannes Film Festival in 2023. On the Hollywood side, he now plays the main role of Scrooge, in theaters this Wednesday, and he is also expected in the casting of Day Drinker, a new big production by Marc Webb (The Amazing Spider-Man). According to NBC News, "Depp's return reflects Hollywood's propensity to turn the page on accusations when the person targeted has never been criminally convicted, has been able to preserve his audience and, in Depp's case, has generated $10 billion at the box office throughout his career." And one brand seems to have understood this commercial potential. Since 2015, Johnny Depp has been the face of Dior's Sauvage perfume. He continued to embody the different variations of the fragrance, notably Sauvage Élixir and Sauvage Extrait.
During the preparation of the last bonus of the “Star Academy”, the students were given golden tickets, à la Willy Wonka, announcing a special surprise. Nikos Aliagas increased the suspense by promising the arrival of an international film star for an exceptional masterclass. Behind this staging, it was above all a promotional operation which took place in front of the academicians. A few questions and a trailer later, the exchanges remained simple based on: “How do you manage your stress? ". Far from questioning the surge of hatred and masculinist attacks targeting his ex-wife.
This Sunday, November 8, it was Anne-Claire Coudray who welcomed the actor to the 8 p.m. news on TF1. Between the promotion of the film, the major roles of her career and her love for French gastronomy, the journalist launched herself: “It’s a film which forces viewers to examine their conscience, to confront their past errors. Is it important to fix these errors? ". The actor's response? “Mistakes cannot be repaired, they are like bumps, bruises, scraped knees, a kind of pain that you have to feel and understand in order to live with it.” For a person accused of domestic violence, this metaphorical response is perhaps not the most appropriate...
The other trajectory also sheds light on this story of the great return. In a Paris Match investigation, we learned that Amber Heard is based in Madrid, far from Hollywood and unwilling to publicly return to her story. The magazine describes the lasting consequences of the hostile surge that targeted her during the American trial. The media contrast is clear: Johnny Depp returns to the big studios and television sets, while his ex-wife seeks to preserve a life away from this exposure.
