Johnny Depp has shared a holiday message to his followers on Instagram.
Various Hollywood icons have reached out to their fans via social media this festive season to wish them a merry Christmas, and the former Pirates of the Caribbean star is the latest to do so, sharing a post on December 27th that acknowledges the tough year we’ve all had over the past 12 months, as well as alluding to the personal troubles Depp himself has faced in 2020.
“This year has been so hard for so many,” he said in his message. “Here’s to a better time ahead. Happy Holidays, everyone! My love and respect to you all. Eternally, JD. X” His words came along with a black and white photo taken from behind the scenes of Crock of Gold, a new documentary centering on Pogues frontman Shane McGowan that Depp produced and which released earlier this month.
The actor’s comments obviously broadly refer to the pandemic, but the message is extra loaded coming from him as 2020 has undoubtedly been one of the toughest years of the star’s career. In November, Depp’s major lawsuit against The Sun for labelling him a “wife beater” ended up not going in his favor, something that resulted in him being fired from the Fantastic Beasts franchise just days later. Mads Mikkelsen will now be taking over his role as main villain Gellert Grindelwald for the third movie in the Warner Bros. series.
Depp only joined social media earlier this year following the COVID-19 outbreak, explaining in a video that he’d decided to sign up for Instagram to better connect with his fans during these trying times. Since then, he’s shared a few song covers and video messages to his followers, which currently number around 9 million.
It remains to be seen how the actor’s career will bounce back after 2020, but something we do know that 2021 has in store for him is animated series Puffins. Johnny Depp stars in the lead role in this ambitious production, a mobile-first, short-form cartoon that’ll comprise 250 five-minute episodes. It’s due on Apple TV and Amazon Prime sometime next year.