By now, you must have heard about the drama surrounding two at-first-glance unrelated Hollywood personalities: Rihanna and Johnny Depp.
In case you need a refresher: yesterday, TMZ exclusively reported that Rihanna, the richest female musician in the world, had Johnny, who back in June won a much-chronicled defamation case against his ex-wife Amber Heard concerning domestic abuse, to appear on the fourth edition of her 40-minute-long Savage X Fenty fashion show, scheduled to stream on Amazon's Prime Video this upcoming Wednesday.
Given the high-profile legal battle that Johnny, who eventually also sued ex-wife Amber Heard for $50 million, was a part of and the sensitivity of the issues at hand involving domestic abuse and related matters, it is no surprise that fans have taken to social media to decry the 59-year-old actor’s cameo in the show.
"We will boycott the show if Johnny Depp is in it," one user said on Twitter.
"Rihanna can't be serious? With all these beautiful and unproblematic men in Hollywood, and Johnny Depp is the one that appeals to you the most?," another commented matter-of-factly.
"If Johnny Depp has any part in this, I will no longer support the brand," someone else noted, echoing sentiments from a slew of folks using the hashtag #DitchDepp on the platform.
"The fact that this man is getting opportunities BECAUSE of his abuse is crazy," yet another commenter shared on the social media network. "There's literally no other reason for him to be there except for the trial. That man is decaying where he stands."
Another aspect of the story that makes it controversial is that, if Johnny were really to appear in the show, according to TMZ, he'd become the first male model to have a featured "star" moment in the history of the brand.
It's important to mention that neither Rihanna nor Johnny have commented on the matter. What's more, a recent Amazon Prime news release about the upcoming production does not include mention of the actor, although it highlights special appearances by other celebrities, including English model Cara Delevingne, Russian model Irina Shayk, actor Taraji P. Henson and Dutch fashion model Lara Stone, among others.
The last bit of information is what has probably fueled some social media users to ask other fans to hold their judgement given the unofficial nature of the news, at least at first impact.
However, just a few hours after the initial reports were made public, leaked images on Twitter supposedly show Johnny walking towards the camera while the song So Fresh, So Clean by Outkast plays in the background.
Some fans are hoping that Rihanna's team will decide not to air Johnny's appearance at all, editing the production accordingly.
Although clearly a big stage, the Savage X Fenty Show Vol. 4 show wouldn't be Johnny's first appearance since the wrapping up of his legal woes. In fact, the actor appeared virtually during MTV's Video Music Awards ceremony back in August, dressed up as a mascot.
Back then, the event also drew consternation from a lot of people, including Amber's own sister Whitney Heard, who called MTV "disgusting and clearly desperate."
