Ulrika Jonsson has blasted attendees at Cannes Film Festival for “fawning” over Johnny Depp.
The 55-year-old presenter has criticised “Hollywood hypocrites” for showering Depp with support, pointing to the seven-minute standing ovation the actor received at the premiere of his new French language costume drama, Jeanne du Barry, in which he portrays Louis XV.
Cannes marked Depp’s first red carpet appearance since he emerged victorious from his US defamation court case against his ex-wife, Amber Heard. The decision to open the festival with Depp’s movie this year was controversial due to the allegations made against him by his ex-wife Amber Heard in their highly publicised defamation trial last year.
In her latest column for The Sun, Jonsson pointed out that during the defamation case, Heard gave “countless examples of his atrocious conduct and made allegations of violent behaviour”. Jonsson continued, writing that if that “wasn’t enough” people are now “literally rolling out the red carpet for Depp”.
“He hasn’t even had to show any signs of rehabilitation – they just love Johnny,” she added.
The media personality and model continued: “And this is pretty much the point: Men behaving badly are not only attractive but they are so easily forgiven.”
The Independent has contacted representatives of Depp for comment.
“Society would have us believe that bad boys are where it’s at. They are risqué, and risqué is sexy,” Jonsson wrote.
She added that, in general, men are often still “patted on the back” despite allegations of misconduct.
“Men, put quite simply, are judged by a different set of rules to us women,” she continued.
It comes are critics are similarly questioning the support for Depp at Cannes.
In a Voices piece for The Independent, Katie Edwards wrote today: “The Cannes Film Festival is the most recent site of [Depp’s] public adoration. It’s not just the public who welcome him, either. Industry icons like Dior, Rihanna’s Savage Fenty X, MTV, and now the Cannes Film Festival have all shown their support for Depp by giving him coveted platforms to raise his already stratospheric profile.”
Edwards continued: “Depp manages to maintain his ‘sweet Johnny’ persona in spite of his hateful words because the vulgar, disrespectful and obscene attitudes to women that were exposed during the trial mean nothing to us – we can accept that they’re jokes because we don’t take misogyny seriously.”
Meanwhile, Depp has said that “the majority” of words written about him are “fantastically, horrifically written fiction” while speaking about being “boycotted” by Hollywood.
The project, from French filmmaker Maiwenn, marks the Pirates of the Caribbean star’s first lead role since winning his highly publicised defamation trial against his former wife Amber Heard last year.
At a press conference for the film, Depp was asked whether he still agreed with previous comments that he had been “boycotted” by Hollywood, to which the actor responded: “Did I feel boycotted by Hollywood? You’d have to not have a pulse at that point to feel [like], ‘None of this is happening, this is actually just a weird joke – you’ve been asleep for 35 years!”
“Of course, when you’re asked to resign from a film you’re doing because of something that is merely a bunch of vowels and consonants floating in the air, you feel a bit boycotted.”
