Johnny Depp Arrives At Film Festival To Warm Welcome, Despite Continued Amber Heard Lawsuit

Actor Johnny Depp has been in the public eye for decades. But lately the headlines surrounding him have been about his ongoing legal battle with ex-wife Amber Heard. Despite the lawsuit, Depp recently arrived at the Karlovy Vary film festival to a very warm welcome from the public.

It was recently announced that the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival in the Czech Republic was going to honor Johnny Depp for his work on two different projects. This turned heads as the legal battle with Amber Heard continues, with both actors alleging abuse by the other. Depp recently arrived for the event, with hundreds of people cheering on the Pirates of the Caribbean actor.

This report comes to us from expats.cz, which had boots on the ground as Johnny Depp arrived at the festival. The actor reportedly signed dozens of signatures for fans, who had lined up for a peek at Depp. He was there to present his new film Crock of Gold: A Few Rounds with Shane MacGowan. He produced the new documentary, in addition to appearing in the project. What’s more, this was reportedly the biggest crowd for the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival.

This warm reception for Johnny Depp comes in stark juxtaposition to a major career setback. After losing his libel case against The Sun for referring to him as a “wife beater”, Depp was promptly asked to step down from his role as Grindelwald in Fantastic Beasts 3. He was originally set to be the franchise’s main antagonist, eventually being replaced by Mads Mikkelsen.

The Karlovy Vary International Film Festival isn’t the only place honoring Johnny Depp over the next month. The San Sebastian Film Festival will be awarding Depp the prestigious Donostia Award when it takes place in Spain in September. So perhaps the actor’s career isn’t in as much jeopardy as his Fantastic Beasts firing might have implied.

While Johnny Depp faced a loss in court across the pond, his legal battle with Amber Heard is far from over. He’s currently suing his ex-wife for defamation, with both actors alleging abuse. There’s been some wild stories going viral as a result, which keeps the proceedings in the public eye.

For her part, Amber Heard’s career hasn’t been affected by the ongoing drama thus far. She’s set to have a role in Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom, and recently reprised her role as Mera for Snyder Cut reshoots. But there has been some backlash from fans, with an online petition circulating for Heard to be fired by Warner Bros. as Johnny Depp was.

Johnny Depp has a few upcoming projects coming down the line, including the new movie Minamata and TV series Puffins. In the meantime, check out the 2021 movie release dates to plan your next movie experience.

Corey Chichizola
Movies Editor

Corey was born and raised in New Jersey. Graduated with degrees theater and literature from Ramapo College of New Jersey. After working in administrative theater for a year in New York, he started as the Weekend Editor at CinemaBlend. He's since been able to work himself up to reviews, phoners, and press junkets-- and is now able to appear on camera with some of his favorite actors... just not as he would have predicted as a kid. He's particularly proud of covering horror franchises like Scream and Halloween, as well as movie musicals like West Side Story. Favorite interviews include Steven Spielberg, Spike Lee, Jamie Lee Curtis, and more.