Johnny Depp doesn't feel boycotted by Hollywood anymore but says he doesn't 'have much further need for' the industry either

• Johnny Depp says he doesn't feel boycotted by Hollywood.
• "I don't think about Hollywood," he said at the Cannes Film Festival. "I don't need Hollywood."
• His movie, "Jeanne du Barry," received a seven-minute standing ovation after it played on the opening night of the fest.

Johnny Depp was in a defiant mood on Wednesday as he addressed the media during the press conference for his movie "Jeanne du Barry," which was the opening-night film at the Cannes Film Festival.

Showing up 27 minutes late to speak to the press, as he was stuck in traffic, Depp showed up saying that he was there to speak about the movie, not his personal life. But he quickly found himself doing just that.

"Did I feel boycotted by Hollywood? You'd have to not have a pulse to feel like, 'No, none of this is happening,'" he said while answering a question asked by Deadline, adding, "Of course when you're asked to resign from a film you're doing because of something that is merely a bunch of vowels and consonants floating in the air, yeah you feel a bit boycotted."

Depp was referring to his exit from the movie "Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore" in November 2020 days after he lost his libel suit against the UK newspaper The Sun, which referred to him as a "wife-beater."

"I don't feel boycotted by Hollywood," Depp added of how he feels now. "I don't think about Hollywood. I don't have much further need for Hollywood myself."

—Variety (@Variety) May 17, 2023

Earlier on during the press conference, Depp also expressed his contempt for the press, who diligently covered his libel suit against The Sun and his defamation trial against ex-wife Amber Heard in which both parties were found liable for defaming each other.

"In regards to me and my life, the majority of what you've read is fantastically horrifically written fiction," he said. "It's like asking the question: 'How are you doing?' But the subtext is, 'God, I hate you.'"

Since Depp's highly publicized trial last June, the actor has been in the midst of a comeback. (Although he would also dismiss this narrative: "I've had my 17th comeback, apparently," he said at Cannes per Variety. "I keep wondering about the word 'comeback.' I didn't go anywhere.")

"Jeanne du Barry" marks the actor's first leading role in years. Before Cannes kicked off, it was reported that the three-time Oscar nominee had landed a $20 million deal with Dior, which is the largest contract ever for a men's fragrance.

"Jeanne du Barry," in which Depp plays French king Louis XV, was met with a seven-minute standing ovation after it screened at Cannes on Tuesday. (It currently has no American distribution.)

"The applause and the reaction from the audience, the energy of the reaction seemed to go on and on," Depp said of the reception to the movie, according to Variety. "I was very proud."