Johnny Depp says Hollywood is boycotting him over Amber Heard saga

Johnny Depp claims his latest film, Minamata, hasn’t opened in US theatres yet because he is being “black-listed” by Hollywood over his ongoing legal issues with his ex-wife Amber Heard.

“We looked these people in the eyeballs and promised we would not be exploitative. That the film would be respectful,” Depp told the British newspaper the Times in a new interview.

“I believe that we’ve kept our end of the bargain, but those who came in later should also maintain theirs.”

MGM, an American media company, acquired the film for distribution in October, and previously set a February 5 release date.

However, that date was later postponed, and an MGM rep told The Post it was “due to the pandemic and no new date has been set yet.”

Minamata follows a war photographer named Eugene Smith (played by Depp) as he documents the effects of mercury poisoning on the citizens of Minamata, Japan.

“Some films touch people,” Depp, 58, told the Times. “And this affects those in Minamata and people who experience similar things. And for anything … For Hollywood’s boycott of, erm, me? One man, one actor in an unpleasant and messy situation, over the last number of years?”

The actor then added, “But, you know, I’m moving towards where I need to go to make all that … To bring things to light.”

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Andrew Levitas, who directed Minamata, appears to back Depp’s claims that film studios are letting the Pirates of the Caribbean star’s personal issues get in the way.

According to the Times, the filmmaker wrote a letter to MGM last month in which he accused the movie studio of being concerned that “the personal issues of an actor in the film could reflect negatively upon them.”

Levitas also accused MGM of failing in its “moral obligation” to release the film and said it needed to explain to the victims “why you think an actor’s personal life is more important than their dead children.”

Depp and Heard, 35, were married from 2015 to 2017, and were embroiled in a nasty divorce proceeding that consisted of numerous allegations of abuse, which came to light in a libel case between Depp and The Sun in a British court last year.

The marriage ended with a temporary restraining order against Depp and later a $US7 million settlement, which Heard claimed she would be donating to charity.

Earlier this year, a judge refused to let Depp appeal the case.

He was, however, granted a partial petition by a judge in New York, ordering the ACLU to release documents confirming that Heard did donate the money from the divorce settlement after it was claimed she hasn’t yet donated the full promised amount.

RELATED: Depp’s defamation case against Amber Heard pushed back
 

Despite the case’s ramifications on his career, Depp told the Times he still feels the support from his fans who have “always been my employers.”

“They are all our employers,” he said. “They buy tickets, merchandise. They made all of those studios rich, but they forgot that a long time ago. I certainly haven’t.”

Reps for MGM and Heard did not immediately return request for comment.

Meanwhile, Depp’s $63 million defamation lawsuit against Heard has recently been delayed, with the former husband and wife set to face off in a courtroom come April 11, 2022.

Depp claims that he was the real victim of domestic abuse during their relationship, which Heard denies.

This story originally appeared on NY Post and has been reproduced here with permission