Johnny Depp Makes Controversial Appearance in Rihanna’s Fashion Show

Depp had sued Heard for $50 million over a 2018 Washington Post op-ed, in which she stated that two years prior, she “became a public figure representing domestic abuse.” While she did not name her ex, she did publicly accuse the actor of domestic violence in a 2016 restraining order she obtained after her divorce filing. Depp, who denied her allegations, alleged in his filing that Heard herself “violently abused” him. During the trial, Heard testified that she “didn’t assault Johnny, ever.”

Rihanna’s Savage x Fenty fashion show marked Depp’s second onscreen gig since the end of the trial, in which Heard was found liable for defaming him with her op-ed and was ordered to pay him more than $10 million in damages. (The jury also ordered him to pay the actress, who filed a countersuit, $2 million because his lawyer had accused her of perpetrating a “hoax.”) Depp’s first on-camera appearance since the trial ended was a pre-recorded cameo at the opening of the 2022 MTV Video Music Awards in August.

Amid his legal woes with Heard, Depp acted sporadically, most recently appearing on-camera in the 2020 independent film Minamata. In 2020, after losing a libel case against a U.K. newspaper that had labeled him a “wife beater”—an allegation he denied, the actor resigned from Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore, the third film in the successful Harry Potter prequel series, at studio Warner Bros.’ request.

Despite his court battles with his ex-wife, Depp continued his music career. His band Hollywood Vampires, made up of himself, Alice Cooper and Aerosmith‘s Joe Perry, recently announced a U.K. arena tour.